Co Derry man who died in custody was ‘in need of addiction services’

County Derry man James Fleck who died in custody could not get the best addiction services while in custody according to the Prisoner Ombudsman report into his death.

The Ombudsman acknowledged that the Prison Officers kept him ‘as safe as was possible’ but said 'alternative models of care' are needed.

The Kilrae man died in hospital in 2019 after being found unresponsive in his cell at Maghaberry Prison, a day after he was remanded into custody.

After being brought to Maghaberry, the 24 year old was identified as being at risk of self-harm or suicide.

During his first night of custody in an observation cell was monitored by prison officers every 15 minutes. He was moved to a regular cell and observed every hour. This was later shortened to every 30 minutes.

The following day he was found unresponsive. Medical care was carried out and he was transferred to hospital, but died five days later.

In the report Prisoner Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, Dr Lesley Carroll, says it is concerning that the County Derry man so many people with addiction and other mental health issues are held in prison.

“In this, as in so many other situations, I am concerned that individuals with significant addictions, anxiety and depression find themselves in custody,” she said.

“The fact that Mr Fleck was in prison is a matter for the courts. And yet, he is not alone in returning to prison on a number of occasions while continuing to be medicated for anxiety and depression and in need of addiction services.”

“I am particularly conscious that Mr Fleck was 24 years old at the time of his death and that he had been in custody eight times in the last five years of his life. He was open about his addictions and mental health challenges and reported them to Healthcare in Prisons and prison staff at committal.”

The report says Mr Fleck’s issues with substance abuse and mental health struggles were well known and he was openly unwilling to address them.

In his short life he endured the death of his best friend in a road traffic accident, the death of his girlfriend and grandfather as well as social stressors such as living under paramilitary threat and experiencing drug misuse and addiction.

Mr Fleck had a history of anxiety and depression and had a longstanding opiate and benzodiazepine dependency. He did not engage in any sustained support for his mental health or addictions.

Mr Fleck had been in custody eight times before – once at Hydebank Wood College and seven times at Maghaberry Prison.

He spent over three years of the previous five years in custody. His last period of custody was for one day on 27 September 2018. Prior to this he had been living in the community for over five months.

“Mr Fleck was open about not wanting to address his addictions and about not being in need of support. Inevitably, both Healthcare in Prisons and the Prison Service are in the unenviable position of supporting a young man in such a situation but with limited resources to do so,” Dr Carroll said.

“I am encouraged that despite Mr Fleck feeling he did not require support at the time of his committal he was assessed as being at risk.

“I am glad to confirm that Mr Fleck received the necessary healthcare supports and management by the Prison Service to keep him as safe as was possible.”

However, she said changes were needed and the collapse of the NI Executive was standing in the way.

“This is a challenging situation for Prison Officers who are dealing with someone convinced they are not in need of help when they have been assessed as being at risk.”

“We need to ensure that individuals in custody receive the best possible healthcare and to deliver this there needs to be alternative models of care which are informed by the death in custody investigations into Mr Fleck’s death and others.

"I am supportive of the approach taken by the Regulation Quality and Improvement Authority in its 2021 'Review of Services for Vulnerable Persons Detained' in NI Prisons, however, I am deeply concerned that the resources required will not be made available given the current demand on resources and the inertia in decision-making without an Assembly at Stormont."