Prison service apology over inmate's Covid death
- Published
Calum Inglis with his father Alan
A senior director from the Scottish Prison Service has apologised to the family of a man who died from Covid in Addiewell prison during the pandemic.
Calum Inglis, 34, died just weeks before he was due to be released from his sentence for serious assault.
His father Alan said he initially learned about his son's death through word of mouth from inside the prison.
Prison service director of operations Allister Purdie gave evidence to the Scottish Covid Inquiry on Tuesday.
He said he had not reviewed the case, but that he would "really apologise" if Calum's family were not contacted by senior prison managers in the hours after his death.
Sodexo, which operates Addiewell, said the company was working with the authorities ahead of a fatal accident inquiry.
Calum Inglis, from Edinburgh, was one of 16 Covid-related deaths in Scotland's prisons during the pandemic.
His father described him as a quiet, shy boy at primary school, who "got into bother" in secondary school and then fell into petty crime.
After a period of stability in his twenties, he was jailed for a serious assault in June 2020. He served the 18-month sentence in the privately-run HMP Addiewell in West Lothian.
Calum was in regular text contact with his parents, and apologised for letting them down.
Calum Inglis, pictured here as a boy, died in October 2021 in Addiewell prison
Alan said his son had been looking forward to being released from prison, and had secured a job offer.
But 16 weeks before the end of his sentence, he tested positive for Covid in October 2021. A couple of days earlier a nurse had increased the dose of his inhaler to control his asthma.
He began experiencing severe headaches and a few days later told his family that his breathing was becoming more difficult.
Alan said that four days before his death, Calum started to cough up blood.
"Both his mum and I were saying, surely you're going to get help?
"He said: 'I've been pressing my buzzer, I've been crying out for help. I've been told someone will see you in the morning but no-one's coming. All I'm being offered is paracetamol. They're telling me: 'You've only got Covid'."
Alan Inglis described his son's death as "neglect"
Alan said he believed someone would help Calum - but this did not happen.
"That's the bit I can't get my head around. You don't want your son to be in prison but at the same time you think he's in safe hands.
"And yet he's left locked in his cell to the point where he's found unresponsive on 24 October.
"It was 100% neglect. There's no other way to describe it."
Alan believes that Calum could still be alive if he had been out in the community.
He wants the Scottish Covid inquiry to look into the culture among prison staff.
Calum's family said he had been a shy boy who got in with the wrong crowd
"Someone working during those 10 days must have known that Calum was unwell to the point he was in serious danger of losing his life, yet no-one did anything.
"Even taking your duty as a prison officer aside, as a fellow human being crying out for help, we would all come to someone's aid in the street, but why should that be any different in a prison?
"A young man was crying out for help, clearly dying, yet those pleas were ignored."
A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: "Our thoughts continue to be with the family and loved ones of Mr Inglis.
"The Scottish Prison Service is fully committed to working with the Scottish Covid Inquiry and supporting it's important work."