Mother Warned Prison Staff Hours Before Son's Death

The Head of the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) has issued an apology after a report revealed that the mother of a man who killed himself warned staff that he had threatened to take his own life.

David O'Driscoll, 30, hanged himself in his cell in Maghaberry Prison in August 2016.

The interim Prisoner Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, Brendan McGuigan, published the findings of an investigation into the death of Mr O'Driscoll.

The report found that a few hours before his death, Mr O'Driscoll's mother had telephoned the prison to raise concerns about her son's welfare after he had called her home from the committal house and threatened to kill himself.

After making enquiries, the Day Manager on duty at Maghaberry returned Mrs O'Driscoll's telephone call and reassured her that her son was fine. Mr O'Driscoll died later that evening.

The investigation identified that no one had spoken directly to Mr O'Driscoll about the call he had made to his mother's home, and the reassurance given to Mrs O'Driscoll was based on earlier interactions an officer on the committal landing had with him.

Speaking about the report, Mr McGuigan said: "It is clear that some aspects of Mrs O'Driscoll's telephone call could have been managed better and there was no evidence that a number of measures the Manager asked to be put in place were completed.

"The investigation identified an inadequate handover from NIPS day staff to night staff and poor record keeping, which regrettably is a recurrent finding in Prisoner Ombudsman death in custody investigations.

"It is particularly distressing in this case that after being reassured by the prison about her son's wellbeing, Mrs O'Driscoll was later told that he had died.

"This case highlights important lessons about how information provided from relatives of those in prison should be addressed.

"I wish to impress on prison staff the importance of staff handovers and record keeping which in this case, fell short of the standards required."

The report makes 11 recommendations for improvement, the majority of which have been accepted by the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) and the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust (SEHSCT).

Head of the NIPS. Ronnie Armour. said: "I very much appreciate how difficult the findings of this report will be for them and, on behalf of the Prison Service, I want to apologise for the fact that David died in our care.

"It is important to recognise the difficult and challenging circumstances that prison staff encounter every day.

"In the last year alone, prison officers at Maghaberry Prison have saved 12 lives.

"However, the report clearly highlights the events leading up to David's death and, in doing so, rightly focuses on a number of failings in our procedures.

"I want to assure the family that we have, and will continue to learn from this tragedy."

(CD/LM)