HMP Stoke Heath must improve emergency response after death

Abul Kashem Miah died in April last year, days after suffering a heart attack at the Shropshire jail

Staff at HMP Stoke Heath must be better prepared to deal with medical emergencies after an inmate died in the prison's yard, a report has found.

Abul Kashem Miah died in April last year, three days after suffering a heart attack at the Shropshire jail.

A fatal incident report by the prisons ombudsman said staff did not have up-to-date first aid training and there was no oxygen in their emergency kit.

The Prison Service said it had acted on the recommendations made.

While it was not known whether the factors affected Mr Miah's chance of survival, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) made five recommendations to ensure others are given the best possible chance of a positive outcome in any future incidents.

Miah was jailed for life in November 2015 for strangling his wife and wrapping her body up in a duvet.

He had been transferred to the prison near Market Drayton, on 14 March 2022 and no significant health needs were identified upon his arrival.

But the 44-year-old collapsed in the exercise yard at 14:45 BST on 18 April.

Prisoners came to his aid but did not use a nearby panic alarm to alert staff "due to a culture of not wanting to be perceived as helping staff, and fears of being adjudicated for improper use", the report stated.

The inmate who found him went to the staff office for assistance, which created a short delay of about two minutes, and when staff arrived they began CPR and radioed for healthcare assistance.

'Felt nervous'

Staff responded well to the emergency, but officers later told investigators they "had not received refresher first aid training over a number of years", the report said.

The discovery of no oxygen in the emergency bag led to a further 12-minute delay when some was sought.

"The clinical nurse manager told us that emergency equipment used for life support was checked daily," the report said.

"However, on 28 July, the head of healthcare conducted an audit of the grab bags and identified that five out of seven bags had no oxygen in them."

The nurse that did administer oxygen told investigators they had felt "nervous and uncertain about this process".

Miah was taken to the Royal Stoke University Hospital Major Trauma Centre with a weak pulse and stopped responding to treatment three days later, and died.

The recommendations made by the PPO, which investigates all deaths in custody, included asking for a review of the emergency response provided to the inmate and ensuring all staff understand their responsibilities in an emergency.

The prison was also told to ensure all staff receive basic first aid training and that it was appropriately refreshed, and to ensure all emergency "grab" bags were checked daily. Prisoners must also be reminded to use panic alarms.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: "We have accepted all the recommendations made by the ombudsman and have introduced strict new processes to ensure emergency equipment is fully stocked at all times."