Watchdog warns Northamptonshire prison about use of restraints after investigation into inmate's death

A Northamptonshire prison has been warned that prisoners are not to be “inappropriately restrained” when admitted to hospital after an investigation into the death of an inmate.

HMP Rye Hill, close to the border with Warwickshire, has been the subject of a Prisons and Probation Ombudsman investigation into the death of a prisoner, Mr Raymon Coburn, aged 77. Rye Hill is a Category B men’s prison holding 664 inmates. It has exclusively housed sex offenders since 2014.

Mr Coburn, who was jailed in 2015 for 25 years for sex offences, was told that he had upper rectal cancer that had spread to other parts of his body in May 2022. Though the watchdog found that the prisoner received “a good standard” of clinical care, it identified issues with the use of restraints when taking Mr Coburn to hospital.

It found that he was inappropriately restrained on four occasions between March and June 2022, and again in October, shortly before his death. Mr Coburn was double cuffed (when the prisoner’s hands are handcuffed in front of them, and one wrist is attached to a prison officer by an additional set of handcuffs) up until October 2022, despite his declining health and age.

On his final visit, he was restrained using an escort chain (a long chain with a handcuff at each end, one of which is attached to the prisoner and the other to an officer). It was only at this point that healthcare staff considered his physical deterioration.

The next day it was noted that Mr Coburn was “medically unwell and frail, was a wheelchair user and found transferring to the bed difficult”. It was noted that the likelihood of escape was very low and his restraint was removed.

Mr Coburn then stayed in hospital, where he died on November 25 of metastatic rectal carcinoma.

The Ombudsman said there was “no justification” for Mr Coburn to be double cuffed or have an escort chain on his last visit to the hospital. It said that it was “concerned” that staff did not object to restraining him prior due to his poor mobility, age and poor health.

The report wrote: “The Prison Service has a duty to protect the public when escorting prisoners outside prison, such as to hospital. It also has a responsibility to balance this by treating prisoners with humanity.

“The Director and Head of Healthcare should ensure that all staff undertaking risk assessments for prisoners taken to hospital understand the legal position on the use of restraints and that assessments fully take into account the health of a prisoner and are based on the actual risk he presents at the time.”

It ruled that a director at the prison should write to the Ombudsman to explain what has been done to address Rye Hill’s “continuing failure to comply with case law on the use of restraints”.

A HMP Rye Hill spokesperson said: “When using restraints on escorts, we act with decency while protecting the public.

“In line with the recommendations in this report, our staff perform risk assessments for prisoner escorts and take into account the health of a prisoner and the risk presented at the time of the escort.”