Latest news with #prisonHealthcare
BBC News
07-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Hull Prison told to better care for terminally ill inmates
Hull Prison has been told to improve care for terminally ill inmates, following the death of a prisoner with lung Prisons and Probation Ombudsman raised concerns over the use of restraints during medical treatment and the equipment available inside the prison for palliative care. John Leadbitter, 62, received end of life treatment that was "partially equivalent to that which he could have expected to receive in the community", the watchdog's report Hull has put an action plan in place to address the recommendations. 'Medical objections' The watchdog recommended training staff in the national medical guidelines "Dying Well in Custody Charter".Other improvements included training staff in the use of restraints when taking prisoners to hospital and that risk assessments by prison managers and the decision to use handcuffs should be based on "the actual risk the prisoner poses at the time".The report said that while being taken to hospital he was placed in restraints "despite medical objections" adding, "there was no indication he posed a risk".In addition, the inspector said that some of the paperwork around the decision to use restraints was report also called for the Category B prison's healthcare department to be equipped with syringe pumps to deliver pain relief Leadbitter died in prison on 31 January 2024 of natural causes, Hull Coroners' Court was on remand facing charges of starting a fire at a doctor's surgery in the North Yorkshire village of Ampleforth in August Hull had trained staff to deliver end of life care as part of an action plan put in place to address the recommendations. Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Click here, to download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and here, to download the BBC News app from Google Play for Android devices.
Reuters
20-05-2025
- Health
- Reuters
Watchdog faults Bureau of Prisons for failing to screen inmates for colorectal cancer
WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Bureau of Prisons is failing to routinely screen older inmates for colorectal cancer, and has in some cases failed to follow up with proper medical care after inmates tested positive in cancer screening, a new report has found. The report from Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz comes after one of the government's most high-profile inmates, former FBI Agent Robert Hanssen, died of colon cancer in June 2023. Hanssen was serving a life sentence after he pleaded guilty to spying for the Soviet Union and later for Russia. According to Horowitz's report, Hanssen had multiple positive results on a stool test commonly used to screen for colorectal cancer, but was never given a diagnosis or offered a follow-up colonoscopy. Tuesday's report from Horowitz also cited concerns about a second inmate - Frederick Bardell - who also died of colon cancer in June 2023 shortly after leaving prison on compassionate release. A judge previously scolded the BOP for repeatedly rejecting his requests for release due to his cancer diagnosis, and Horowitz's report found that Bardell faced a 6-month delay in getting a colonoscopy after he first noticed blood in his stool. "Our evaluation identified several serious operational and managerial deficiencies that the BOP must address to ensure that inmates receive proper screening and treatment for colorectal cancer," Horowitz wrote. Based on his review, he said his office found that less than two-thirds of average risk inmates between ages 45 and 74 received a colorectal cancer screening as of April 2024. The review also found that about 10% of a sampling of 327 inmates had no documented medical follow-up after receiving a positive result in colorectal cancer screening. In a written response to Horowitz's report, BOP Director William Marshall said he concurred with the report's recommendations for improving cancer screenings for inmates, and blamed "longstanding staffing issues" for compromising efforts to screen inmates for colorectal cancer in certain facilities. "If detected early, colorectal cancer has a 5-year survival rate of 90%, with survival declining steeply the later it is caught," he wrote. "The Bureau is fully committed to its ongoing efforts to improve in these areas."
