The latest Learning Bulletin produced by the Equalities, Rights and Decency (ERD) Group in the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) cites investigations carried out by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman into a number of deaths, highlighting that procedures for calling and managing medical emergencies in prisons were not always as effective as they should have been.
He found that, in over 90 cases, the following features were present repeatedly across the estate:
- There was a consistent lack of information provided to the control room from the incident scene. This, in turn, caused problems when communicating with the ambulance service, who prioritise their response according to the seriousness of the injuries reported;
- Ambulances were often delayed by lengthy processes when passing through the vehicle lock and moving inside prisons;
- There was a general lack of understanding of the medical codes and this had, in some cases, resulted in the wrong codes being used;
- Some prisons did not have a local protocol for informing staff of what to do during medical emergencies.
The purpose of medical emergency response codes is to ensure a timely, appropriate and effective response to medical emergencies in order to maximise the likelihood of positive outcomes for prisoners. Read the full bulletin here.