A report published in September 2011 of an unannounced visit to Wormwood Scrubs by the Chief Inspector of Prisons said: ‘There had been little progress in… support for men with disabilities’; ‘No cells had been adapted for prisoners with disabilities’ and ‘support of men with disabilities was not comprehensive or systematic’. The report also described the prison’s inpatient unit as ‘an unsuitable environment for those recovering from physical illness’.
A year later, in July 2012, the governor of the Scrubs assured a Crown Court judge that his prison could provide for the complex medical needs of a man waiting to be sentenced on drug charges and the judge consequently gave the defendant, 30 year-old Daniel Roque Hall, a prison sentence of three years. Daniel arrived at the Scrubs on 6 July. Some six weeks later, he was in hospital on a life support machine.
Daniel suffers from ataxia, a rare degenerative condition, affecting co-ordination of the whole body. It causes a heart defect and diabetes. He regularly goes into spasms, which require immediate attention. He is wheelchair bound, and has a life expectancy of 35-40 years.
He had pleaded guilty to importing two and a half kilos of cocaine, hidden in his wheelchair, from Peru where Daniel and a carer had been on holiday. The judge accepted he had been ‘groomed and manipulated’ by drug dealers and sought assurances from the Prison Service that Daniel’s complex medical needs would be met in custody. The governor of Wormwood Scrubs told the judge the prison would provide two round-the-clock carers, as well as the complex stretching programme Daniel needs to keep him stable.
Things went wrong almost immediately; left alone, Daniel fell off an examination couch and sustained a head wound. This man who can hardly move unaided was then handcuffed and taken to a care home for the elderly, where staff were not given details of his medication including the vital Warfarin, prescribed to thin his blood.
Back in the Scrubs, Daniel suffered further spasms and was constantly denied his full medication. The promised two carers and stretching exercises were not provided. His condition deteriorated rapidly and, in the early hours of 23 August, he was rushed to University College Hospital (UCH) and placed on a life support machine. A consultant at UCH said Daniel’s heart had been ‘stunned’ by his treatment at the Scrubs. Now off the life support machine, he remains in hospital. His lawyers have lodged judicial review proceedings and will argue to the court that he should not be sent back to the prison which clearly cannot meet his needs.
Daniel’s case, though shocking, is not unique; A Ministry of Justice survey earlier this year found 18% of prisoners interviewed had a physical disability of some kind and reports indicate their needs are not being met. In 2009 a highly critical thematic review by the Prisons Inspectorate concluded that ‘from the moment of reception to the time of discharge, prisoners with disabilities have poorer experiences in almost all areas than other prisoners’.
Research by the Prison Reform Trust in 2010 found disabled prisoners denied basic aids such as walking sticks or wall bars in their cell, leaving prisoners to crawl across the floor. And the Prisoners’ Advice Service constantly receives calls from disabled prisoners who are not provided with appropriate care. Many disabled prisoners say they could not function without the kindness of fellow prisoners and while this is laudable, it is a damning indictment of prison health care provision.
This summer saw a massively successful Paralympic Games in London, with the nation thrilled by the feats of disabled athletes. The image of those men and women, proud in the spotlight, soaking up the applause, contrasts shamefully with that of prisoners with disabilities crawling across cell floors in the dark corners of an inhumane penal system that denies them basic aids.
To support Daniel sign the petition at:
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/justice-for-daniel-roque-hall.html
Eric Allison
