On the 14th of October, the coroner for Leicester City, Ivan Cartwright, filed a ‘prevention of future deaths’ report to the Ministry of Justice, exposing the shortsightedness of current prison officer training programmes.
Within this report, Cartwright claimed that training for basic first aid was omitted from training programmes, including CPR. This could mean that eventually some prisons might have no officers available who are capable of providing first aid.
The report
Cartwright’s report began after an inquest into Steven Sleaford, a prisoner at HMP Gartree, who took his own life on the 27th October 2022.
The jury for the inquest had concluded that Steven’s death occurred due to the prison staff’s failure to follow protocols, which denied him the healthcare that was needed. Sleaford had been serving a 23-year sentence for murder, a sentence he had already served 11 years of, when the incident took place.
A case study of negligence
Due to feelings of indignation at having been placed on a basic regime, Sleaford warned officers of ‘basic treatment’ he would show them – the threat of suicide in these lines going unnoticed.
Sleaford’s observation panel on his door was also blocked, preventing officers from checking on him through the night. Prison management instructed staff not to allow obstructions of observation panels, yet this instance went unchallenged.
Combined with the instructions to ‘never’ enter cells alone for the safety of officers, as well as a general air of confusion surrounding emergencies within cells, Sleaford was not checked on fast enough, resulting in his death.
Confusion around first aid should never happen in any workplace, and you can find courses for first aid at work Gloucester online – visit Tidal Training to find out more.
The confusion and dismay surrounding these incongruent reports has already gathered plenty of attention, and whilst the government is yet to respond – making the most of their 56-day window for providing a full response – the hope is that all the extra eyes on this incident will prevent similar events arising in the future.
