Investigation underway at Wealstun prison after two officers found sleeping on duty as prisoner was in dying days

A report into the death of Lawrence Gray, who died from lung cancer aged 42, found that a hospice nurse had discovered the two prison escort officers asleep when Mr Gray had buzzed for help. The nurse said Mr Gray was “confused” and had “urinated on the floor”.

In its report, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman said: “This was unacceptable and should be investigated.” It also said that the investigation should be carried out “with a view to considering whether disciplinary action is appropriate”.

A prison service spokesperson has since confirmed that “an investigation into this incident is underway”.

Mr Gray died in a community hospice outside of the prison on January 27 this year. The investigation report, which was published last week, says that he was jailed for three years for violent offences in December 2020 and had various illnesses upon his arrival. In October 2021 his health rapidly deteriorated and in November he was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.

On December 14 he was moved to a hospice away from the prison. In its report, the ombudsman says: “Mr Gray's clinical records show that on the night of December 18, 2021, a hospice nurse responded to Mr Gray’s call buzzer and found that the two prison escort officers with Mr Gray appeared to be both asleep. The nurse recorded that Mr Gray appeared confused and there was a puddle of urine on the floor.

"She asked the escort officers if they had seen what had happened and one of them said, ‘I saw him sat over there and heard him weeing on the floor and told him to go to the toilet’. The nurse recorded that this was inappropriate, and they should have given Mr Gray a bottle or helped him to the toilet.”

The ombudsman recommended the prison’s governor to carry out an investigation, adding: “Clearly it is unacceptable for bedwatch officers to fall asleep on duty. We would also have expected a more caring attitude towards a terminally ill prisoner who was clearly confused and needed help to get to the toilet.”

The reviewer concluded that the clinical care Mr Gray received at Wealstun was “equivalent to that which he could have expected to receive in the community” but still made three recommendations. These were to ensure that patients suffering from low blood sugars are reviewed with an appropriate timescale, to ensure that patients with diagnosed Long Term Conditions are referred into appropriate clinics and to ensure that care planning is initiated and reviewed as appropriate for patients with Long Term Conditions.

A spokesperson for Practice Plus Group, which provides the healthcare at HMP Wealstun, offered their condolences to Mr Gray’s family, adding: “It is our role as the healthcare provider in secure settings to ensure prisoners receive care that is equivalent to that which they would receive in the community, and were therefore reassured to note that the independent clinical review found that this was the case with Mr Gray while at HMP Wealstun. We have accepted and actioned the recommendations in the Prison and Probation Ombudsman report.”