Inquest into Derry man's death in prison to be heard tomorrow
An inquest is due to take place tomorow into death of a Derry man in prison four years ago.
Patrick Duffy, Lower Nassau Street in the Rosemount area of the city, died from drug ‘poisoning’ while a remand prisoner in Maghaberry Prison on June 23, 2011.
A report into the death of the 49-year-old by Prisoner Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, Pauline McCabe, highlighted the need for a better approach towards the distribution of medication to prisoners.
Mr Duffy was a remand prisoner and on the day of his death was due to attend court where he was expected to be released from custody on bail.
Mrs McCabe investigation found he died of ‘poisoning by dihydrocodeine, diazepam and chlordiazepoxide’.
She said that a review of Mr Duffy’s GP records showed that he had a long and complex medical history and a number of background risk factors that indicated an increased risk of abuse of medication and self-harm in custody.
The Prison Ombudsman’s investigation found that, at the time of his committal, Mr Duffy was issued all of the medication he advised he had been taking in the community on a weekly in-possession basis.
No contact was made with his GP to confirm his prescription and no request was made for his community medical records at this or any other time during his committal.
Mrs McCabe’s report also said no consideration was given to referring Mr Duffy to mental health services.
She said during his time in custody Mr Duffy had two episodes of deliberate self-harm resulting in the opening of SPAR (Supporting Prisoners at Risk) booklets and periods of supervised swallow for the administration of his medication.
Mr Duffy also failed a drugs test while in custody.
He was, however, repeatedly assessed as being suitable to return to weekly in-possession of his medication up until the time of his death.
The investigation by Mrs McCabe, who has since left her position, said there was ‘clear evidence’ that Mr Duffy was able to obtain non-prescribed substances.
Mrs McCabe said his cell mate reported that Mr Duffy was looking forward to leaving prison to be with his partner and family.
She said no evidence was found that Mr Duffy intended to die.
In her report, released in June 2013, Mrs McCabe said: “This is yet another tragic warning of the importance of effectively addressing the use of drugs within prisons and further emphasises the need for a joined up approach to implementing the prison reform programme.
“It is fundamental that prescription medication is supplied safely with careful and continuous monitoring of any risks of misuse or particular vulnerabilities associated with the individual.
“A failure to do so only serves to compound the problems associated with the availability and use of illicit drugs.
“Mr Duffy’s self-referral to addiction services suggests that he recognised a problem with his dependence on drugs, yet in spite of his continuing self-harm and abuse of medication, appropriate consideration was never given to the possible need for Mr Duffy to be reviewed by a prison doctor or by the mental health team.”
Tomorrow's hearing will be held in Belfast.