§ Mr. Chris SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to publish, and in what form, the results of his investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Delroy McKnight in Wandsworth prison; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs Rumbold[holding answer 27 February 1992]: Any death in custody is the cause of very great concern, to the Prison Service and to the public. In addition to the full public inquest, a careful review is carried out by prison management in each case to see whether there are any practical lessons which can be learned. It would not be appropriate to publish such reports routinely.
The death of Delroy McKnight, however, revealed very serious inadequacies in the quality of care which, on this occasion, required a further and more detailed investigation. Following the inquest, which was held in March 1991, the director of prison medical services therefore established a working group to study the events leading to Mr. McKnight's death and make recommendations for change. The group, which was chaired by Dr. Michael Longfield, a principal medical officer within the medical directorate, submitted its report last November. In view of the seriousness of this case, I am now, exceptionally, arranging for a copy of the report to be placed in the Library of the House.
The report makes 17 recommendations, the majority of which are concerned with specific practical changes in working procedures at Wandsworth and other establishments at which Mr. McKnight was in custody. The recommendations aim particularly at improving communication and continuity in the clinical management of 44W prisoners, for example by ensuring full documentation of all decisions, clear understanding by all staff of their responsibilities and regular multi-disciplinary reviews of the needs of prisoners who appear to be at risk of self-harm or are receiving treatment for psychiatric problems. Almost all the recommendations addressed to establishments have already been implemented. The local suicide prevention management group at Wandsworth has brought about substantial improvements in suicide prevention policy and procedure since Mr. McKnight's tragic death.
In addition, the report makes several recommendations about general matters of health care management within the Prison Service, which are under active consideration within the medical directorate in the context of the follow-up to the scrutiny of the prison medical service.