Winchester jail criticised for not alerting family to inmate's suicide bid (From Hampshire Chronicle)

Winchester jail criticised for not alerting family to inmate's suicide bid

9:50am Sunday 21st March 2010 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(0)

A SISTER has slammed Winchester Prison for taking two days to tell her that her brother attempted suicide at the jail.

Patrick Connors was taken to the nearby Royal Hampshire County Hospital after taking an overdose.

The 44-year-old, who is originally from London, was unconscious when he was admitted on Monday, March 8. He is now recovering.

His sister, who asked not to be named, said she was only told on the evening of Wednesday, March 10.

She said: “He could have been dead and the family wouldn’t have known. The prison should have notified me straight away as I’m the next of kin.”

She added that prison officers were “rude” when she tried to find out more details about her brother’s near miss.

She said her brother, who is 14 years into a life sentence for robbery and burglary offences, was moved to Winchester Prison last year.

While at the jail, he had also suffered with pneumonia, she said.

The Ministry of Justice declined to comment on the case but said the prison had procedures for dealing with suicide attempts.

A ministry spokesman said: “Staff at HMP Winchester are aware that informing next of kin of a suicide attempt by a prisoner requires careful and sensitive handling.

“Other than in the most exceptional cases the prison would normally seek the consent of an inmate before informing their next of kin on their behalf.

“Each case is different and in some instances prisoners may not wish their relatives to be informed.”