'Darren was neglected from the day he was born': Grieving sister says brother would still be alive if Thameside Prison staff had 'done their jobs'

Drug addict Darren McConnell was dead in his Thameside Prison cell for somewhere between two and three-and-a-half hours, before staff finally discovered his lifeless body.

Shockingly, CCTV footage shown at his inquest at Southwark Coroner’s Court exposed that health care assistants, employed by Care UK, had lied and falsified prison records to suggest that had checked Mr McConnell was alive and breathing – when in fact they had not done so.

Last week, an inquest jury ruled the 41-year-old had passed away sometime between 6pm and 7.20pm on December 4, 2014.

Mr McConnell’s cell was not unlocked until 9.43pm, as health care assistants ignored orders to make half hourly pulse and blood pressure checks from GP Dr Talal Al-Mekhlafi, the inquest heard.

The dad-of-two, who was addicted to heroin and crack cocaine, had been prescribed 55ml of substitute drug methadone on the day of his death.

Prior to his arrest on December 2, Mr McConnell had been taking 110ml-a-day.

However, tolerance decreases extremely quickly, making the prisoner vulnerable to overdose, the jury heard.

The jury listed Mr McConnell’s cause of death as “drug related, to which neglect contributed”.

Staff gave him an “excessive dose” of at least 65ml of methadone, although the exact amount is unclear due to a record book which has disappeared.

Between 6.35pm and 7.10pm, a 35-minute window in which the Peckham resident’s life may have ended, there were no medical professionals or health care assistants on the ward, the inquest heard.

The jury ruled “systematic and individual failures meant that at the time of death the unit was insufficiently staffed, staff were insufficiently supervised and clinical handovers were inadequate.

“The overall quality of care during this period fell significantly below acceptable practice.”

Vital signs observations occurred just twice after Dr Al-Mekhlafi requested them, and then were stopped by a healthcare assistant of his own accord.

Two healthcare assistants said they had done basic welfare checks on the deceased, but CCTV showed that these never actually happened.

Furthermore, evidence suggested Mr McConnell had been dead for a number of hours when he was found and was therefore already deceased, lying with his face and chest under his bed, when later ‘signs of life’ checks did take place.

However staff still failed to raise the alarm.

Medical professionals who spoke at the inquest said if Mr McConnell had been observed as requested by the GP, the signs of methadone overdose would have been picked up.

Mr McConnell could then have been easily treated with the drug Naloxone which was available in the healthcare emergency bags in the prison, and he would have survived.

Clair Hilder, a civil liberties solicitor at Hodge Jones & Allen who represented Mr McConnell’s family at the inquest, said: “Without the availability of CCTV footage, the extent of the lack of care given to Mr McConnell would never have come to light.

“It is shocking that despite the orders of the GP, a healthcare assistant took a decision to stop vital signs observations and he and a colleague did not even undertake the 30 minute basic observations required for all patients on the inpatient unit.

“These individuals also went further and fraudulently recorded that these observations had taken place and that Darren was well in his cell.

TODAY'S TOP STORIES:

“For Mr McConnell’s family, it adds insult to injury that staff who accept they fraudulently recorded observations never received disciplinary action and are still working looking after patients in different prisons.

“Whilst Care UK no longer operates in HMP Thameside, the company does provide healthcare in a number of prisons including HMP Brixton, HMP Pentonville and HMP Wormwood Scrubs.”

Mr McConnell’s sister Joanne McConnell said: “Darren had an incredibly tough upbringing and was neglected from the day he was born.

“He was let down by the system throughout his life and suffered because of our abusive father.

“The outcome of the inquest was very hard to hear and has left me with the knowledge that my brother would still be here today if the prison’s healthcare staff had simply done their jobs properly.

“Once again my brother was let down by those who ought to have kept him safe.

“I can only hope that having identified these failings, Care UK looks at its operations and finds a way to ensure their patients receive at least the basic levels of care expected of them.”