HMP Altcourse: Prison criticised after inmate dies in cell

HMP Altcourse was criticised for failing to conduct proper welfare checks

A privately run prison has been criticised for failing to provide proper care to a man found dead in his cell.

Adrian Green, 48, died of heart failure on 6 May 2022 at HMP Altcourse in Liverpool.

The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) found that staff had failed to address Mr Green's high blood pressure.

G4S, which ran Altcourse before it was taken over by Sodexo in 2023, said it would review the ombudsman's findings.

The PPO, which investigates all deaths in custody, published a Fatal Incident Report which said Mr Green had "extensive health issues" including heart disease, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes and cirrhosis of the liver.

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The report noted Mr Green's death was not the first to result in healthcare staff at the jail being advised to improve blood pressure monitoring, and referred to a "similar" case involving a death in November, 2019.

The PPO noted how in both cases high blood pressure had been identified but "follow-on actions or reviews had not been put in place".

The prison was also criticised for failing to conduct a proper welfare check on Mr Green, although investigators accepted he would already have been dead at the time it was carried out.

First aid 'futile'

Mr Green, of no fixed address, had been serving a three-month sentence for misusing the 999 system after admitting making a false report to Cheshire Police, claiming a gunman was holding two people hostage at a house in his home town of Ellesmere Port.

He was sentenced at Chester Magistrates' Court on 29 April 2022 and sent to Altcourse the same day.

At 05:11 GMT on the morning of 6 May, a welfare check had been carried out on Mr Green's cell, although the report noted at that time in the morning officers would not expect a response and were simply expected to check whether the prisoner was asleep in bed.

However, the PPO noted that prison officers were supposed to conduct another welfare check when delivering breakfast, when they were required to get a "positive response" before moving on.

The report stated one prison officer, referred to as Officer B, opened Mr Green's cell at 07:58 that day and placed his breakfast on the sink. The officer told investigators he had said "good morning", but Mr Green did not respond.

G4S ran HMP Altcourse before it was taken over by Sodexo in 2023

However, Officer B told the PPO he had "believed Mr Green was awake" so continued on to the next cell.

Just over an hour later, another officer, referred to as Officer D, opened Mr Green's cell to bring him his medication and found he was unable to rouse him. It soon became clear Mr Green had been dead for "some time" and first aid was "futile", the report found.

A post-mortem examination concluded the cause of death was acute myocardial insufficiency, described as a reduction in blood flow to the heart.

The final report said: "The clinical reviewer concluded that the physical healthcare that Mr Green received at Altcourse was not of the required standard and not equivalent to that which he could have been expected to receive in the wider community."

The report also criticised a lack of understanding among prison officers of how the welfare check system was supposed to work.

A G4S spokesman said: "Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Mr Green. We review all Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) reports and Clinical Reviews, and share recommendations and best practice across our business."