Morton Hall brain bleed detainee 'should have been checked'

Bai Bai Ahmed Kabia, 49, was being held at Morton Hall Immigration Removal Centre, near Lincoln, when he lost consciousness on 5 December 2016

A detainee who died after collapsing at a detention centre should have been referred to a GP following an earlier suspected seizure, an inquest heard.

Bai Bai Ahmed Kabia, 49, was being held at Morton Hall Immigration Removal Centre, near Lincoln, when he lost consciousness on 5 December 2016. He died in hospital the next day.

Sleaford Coroners Court heard he suffered a massive bleed to the brain.

An NHS trust admitted he should have been checked after an incident in 2015.

Kabia, who was born in Sierra Leone, arrived to the UK in 1994 and was granted indefinite leave to remain 11 years later.

But in May 2014 he was handed a 15-month jail term at Newcastle Crown Court after being convicted of fraudulently using false details to get a job as a doctor.

While he was awaiting deportation at Morton Hall 19 months before his death, Kabia suffered a suspected seizure, the inquest heard.

Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, which provides healthcare at Morton Hall, admitted Mr Kabia should have been referred to a GP

A post mortem examination found he had suffered a cerebella haemorrhage and a pathologist noted the presence of a "naturally occurring abnormality of blood vessels which are known to be prone to rupture causing haemorrhage", the court was told.

The day before his death at Lincoln County Hospital, Kabia had complained of a severe headache.

Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, which provides healthcare at Morton Hall, admitted he should have been referred to a GP following the earlier incident, the inquest heard.

Mr Stuart Knowles, representing the trust, said: "It is admitted that on the night of 10th May or during the day of 11th May 2015, Mr Kabia should have been referred to medical staff for review."

Senior Coroner Mr Timothy Brennand told a jury: "The family may be rhetorically asking themselves: 'If this was a natural cause of death, was it in any way wholly preventable?'"

The inquest continues.