Copyright cambridge-news
A prisoner took his own life before he was due to be deported, a report has revealed. On January 23, 2020, Marek Witulski, from Poland, was sentenced to eight months in prison for causing death by careless driving. He was sent to HMP Peterborough. Mr Witulski died at the prison on July 9, 2020, aged 50 after he was found unconscious in his cell. He had taken his own life. This incident happened before Mr Witulski was due to be deported back to Poland, which had been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A report carried out by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman looked into Mr Witulski's death. On April 2, the report said Mr Witulski was served with a deportation order. It said the 50-year-old “waved his right to appeal and agreed to return to Poland”. He was due to be released on May 23, 2020, however the Home Office was unable to arrange flights back to Poland due to the pandemic and this release was delayed. On May 22, his son and the Polish embassy contacted HMP Peterborough with concerns about Mr Witulski’s “continued detention and the effect on his mental health”. A safer custody manager at the prison told the Polish embassy that they would refer Mr Witulski to the mental health team, however this didn’t happen. Further attempts were made to arrange flights back to Poland on June, 1, 16, 20 and 25. However, these flights were cancelled again due to Covid-19. Another flight was booked on July 5 and this was also cancelled. On July 6 at around 3.25pm, Mr Witulski's cellmate returned from the exercise yard and found the 50-year-old “unconscious in his cell”. The report said: “Staff immediately called a medical emergency code and started CPR. “Healthcare staff arrived shortly afterwards and took over resuscitation attempts until paramedics arrived at around 3.30pm. Paramedics took Mr Witulski to hospital, but he never regained consciousness and died on July 9." The report found that Mr Witulski was detained for around three months after he was expected to be deported. It said that during this time he spent “most of the day in his cell” because of Covid-19 restrictions, and his interactions with staff and other prisoners were “further restricted because of his very poor English”. While it was out of the prison’s control to keep him detained, the report said it was “very concerned that staff did not do more to communicate the reasons to him, to check on his welfare and to assess his risk to himself.” It also said staff failed to refer him to the mental health team or check on his welfare after concerns were raised by his family and the Polish embassy. The report added: “There is no evidence that staff had any meaningful interaction with Mr Witulski after March 3. Although we were told that the prison’s foreign national co-ordinator spoke to him after his flight to Poland was cancelled on June 20, there is no record of this in Mr Witulski’s prison record (NOMIS).” Finally, the report found the prison’s local operating procedure (LOP) on the use of translation services was “unclear” and there were times when prison and healthcare staff didn’t use “appropriate methods” to communicate with Mr Witulski. Inspectors made several recommendations after the death of Mr Witulkski. It was recommended the director ensure that when a family expresses concerns about a prisoner’s wellbeing, staff should: Assess the prisoner’s needs and make appropriate referrals, if necessary Document the concerns and agreed actions in the prisoner’s NOMIS record. The director should also ensure staff: Promptly inform foreign national prisoners of any delay to their expected release/deportation date Carry out a face-to-face welfare check, using the services of an interpreter if necessary, to assess the prisoner’s risk in the event of any delay to their expected release/deportation date; and Clearly document the discussion, risk assessment, and actions taken in the prisoner’s NOMIS record. It also said the director should ensure relevant interactions with prisoners are recorded in the NOMIS record, the director and head of healthcare should ensure staff use approved interpretation services to communicate with non-English speaking prisoners when discussing complex matters. Also, the director should ensure that the prison’s LOP procedure on translation services is “revised to make it clear” when approved interpretation services must be used and when it is appropriate to use staff or prisoners as unofficial interpreters.
