Darren McGuin

“Although on the facts of this case it made no difference to the outcome, the first prison officer on the scene was not first aid trained.”

“There was clearly a delay between Mr [name redacted] being found unresponsive by the prison officers and the commencement of CPR by members of the healthcare staff.”

“Prison officers will usually be first on scene, particularly if a prisoner is found in their cell and this lack of basic life support training is leading to a delay in the commencement of CPR.”

“Evidence was heard that the majority of those prison officers who had commenced in their roles prior to 2018 had no first aid/basic life-saving skills and no ability/training in undertaking cardiopulmonary resuscitation ('CPR').”

“Prison officers will usually be first on scene, particularly if a prisoner is found in their cell and this lack of basic life support training is leading to a delay in the commencement of CPR.”

“No ongoing training had been provided to prison officers since initial training on basic life support or first aid, meaning that officers confronted with discovery of a ligature situation were unable to provide immediate and basic life support due to a lack of confidence and unfamiliarity of what to do in a situation when every second can count in promoting the chances of an optimal recovery.”