Ian Deavall
9 Sept 2024 · Coroner Bronia Hartley · Greater Manchester West
The coroner's concerns
1. medical emergency response
“The response to a medical emergency will generally be time critical”
2. victimisation of vulnerable prisoners
“The risk that non-VP prisoners will victimise VP prisoners is a recognised one”
3. staff awareness of medical emergency
“That prison staff became aware of the medical emergency in the Deceased's case was more by accident than design (depending as it did on the caprice of Prisoner A)”
4. deactivation of emergency cell bells
“emergency cell bells at HMP Forest Bank can be deactivated readily and altogether by other prisoners and no action to implement fail-safe measures is currently proposed”
Responses
2024-0485-Response-from-HMPPS.pdf ↗· His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service
Stated action
“HMP Forest Bank has advised that the induction is now split across two wings, which allows VPs and non-VPs to be housed separately, which means that the risks to VPs associated with co-location, including the cancelling of cell call bells by non-VPs, are no longer present.”