Mum warned of suicide risk son

Inmate ended life hours after phone call

THE mother of a man found dead in a prison cell told staff he had threatened to kill himself just hours before, a report revealed yesterday.

David O’driscoll, 30, died in August 2016 at Maghaberry Prison.

The Interim Prisoner Ombudsman’s report said a few hours before, his mother had phoned the prison with concerns.

After making inquiries, the manager on duty returned Mrs O’driscoll’s telephone call and reassured her that her son was fine.

Mr O’driscoll died later that evening.

The investigation identified no one spoke directly to the inmate about the call he had made to his mother and the reassurance given to her was based on earlier interactions an officer had. Interim Prisoner Ombudsman Brendan Mcguigan said: “It is particularly distressing that after being reassured by the prison about her son’s wellbeing, Mrs O’driscoll was later told that he had died.

“This highlights important lessons about how information from relatives should be addressed.

“I wish to impress on staff the importance of staff handovers and record keeping which in this case fell short of the standards required.

“Some aspects of Mrs O’driscoll’s call could have been managed better.

The report makes 11 recommendations for improvement, the majority of which have been accepted by NIPS and South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust.

Prison Service head Ronnie Armour said: “We will learn from this tragedy.”

CRITICISED Maghaberry Prison