Yahoo News Wandsworth prison staff failed to check on prisoner in the 11 months before he took his life
Wing staff at a South London prison failed to carry out welfare checks on a man facing extradition to Poland in the 11 months before he took his own life. Przemyslaw Wozniak, 34, was found dead in his cell at HMP Wandsworth on February 17, 2021.
A Prisons and Probation Ombudsman report found a GP who was meant to review Mr Wozniak's mental health on February 12, 2021, five days before he died, failed to ask him about his mood. It slammed this as a 'missed opportunity' to consider whether he needed support.
Mr Wozniak was taken to HMP Wandsworth on December 23, 2019, awaiting extradition to his home country of Poland to face charges of fraud, robbery and theft. The primary care team assessed Mr Wozniak on January 3, 2020, and decided he was not depressed and had no other long-term mental health problems.
Mr Wozniak's key worker spoke to him regularly until March 13, 2020, when all key work was stopped at the prison due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The ombudsman found no record of wing staff checking his welfare after that, as the pandemic continued, or that anyone at the prison used interpreting services to speak to him.
The report said: "We are... concerned that there is no evidence that prison or healthcare staff ever considered whether Mr Wozniak had any language difficulties. This is particularly important in relation to his mental healthcare.
"Polish was Mr Wozniak’s first language, and though he could speak and write in English to some extent, explaining complex emotional and mental health needs in a language a prisoner is not proficient in can lead to miscommunication."
A court ordered Mr Wozniak's extradition to Poland on April 16. He applied for permission to appeal the order, but a decision on his application was postponed pending the outcome of a related appeal. He was still waiting for a decision when he died.
Overall, Mr Wozniak self-referred to the prison's specialist mental health team seven times between February 2020 and February 2021, but he was only seen in person by the team on the seventh occasion. He told a nurse at this appointment that he may have 'depression and [be] misunderstood'. The nurse arranged for a GP to review his mood.
3-minute delay in calling ambulance
A GP visited Mr Wozniak on February 12, while he also had sinusitis. He prescribed ibuprofen for his sinusitis, but did not ask him about his mood.
An officer found Mr Wozniak dead in his cell on February 17. They raised a general alarm, instead of using the medical emergency code, which led to a three-minute delay in staff calling an ambulance.
Paramedics were unable to revive Mr Wozniak and he was pronounced dead later that afternoon. An inquest on January 20, 2023, found he died by suicide.
The ombudsman said the specialist mental health team should have considered why Mr Wozniak's needs were not being met, after his third self-referral, and that staff should have been made aware of his concerns. A clinical reviewer ruled the care Mr Wozniak received did not always meet the required standard.
The report said: "We are very concerned that there is no evidence that staff checked Mr Wozniak’s welfare or had any meaningful interactions with him during the 11 months before his death. We are also concerned that no one appears to have recognised that the continuing uncertainty about his possible extradition may have been a risk factor for Mr Wozniak."
It added: "We recognise that he never told anyone he was having suicidal thoughts and that, in that sense, staff could not have known that he was at imminent risk of suicide. However, many prisoners do not disclose suicidal thoughts explicitly and, unless staff are having regular, meaningful contact with prisoners, they are unlikely to pick up on changes in a prisoner’s appearance, behaviour or mood that might suggest he is at risk."
Mr Wozniak was the fourth prisoner to take his own life at HMP Wandsworth since February 2019. There have been another five suicides at the prison since his death, which are being investigated by the ombudsman.
A Prison Service spokesperson said: "Our thoughts remain with the friends and family of Przemyslaw Wozniak. We have accepted and have implemented all of the ombudsman’s recommendations, including reviewing the local operational policy for mental health referrals and HMP Wandsworth has reminded staff what is expected of them during medical emergencies."
Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, which provides mental health services at the prison, has been contacted for comment.
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