Our Katie pleaded for help in jail. But all she got from the nurses was incompetence
GRIEVING PARENTS COMPILE DOSSIER OF FAILURES Family tell how staff gave alopecia sufferer banana instead of bandana
Brendan McGinty The parents of a student who took her own life behind bars have claimed staff failed to help deal with her alopecia.
Katie Allan, 21, was bullied by fellow inmates about her hair loss in Polmont prison. But when mum Linda and dad Stuart asked for her to be given a bandana to cover it up, they say a nurse sent bananas. The couple are compiling a dossier of failures at Polmont and Forth Valley NHS ahead of meetings with Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf and Labour’s justice spokesman Daniel Johnson. Katie was found dead in her cell in June, three weeks before she was to be released on a tag. She had been sentenced to 16 months for drink driving and causing injury by dangerous driving. Her parents say she was failed by police, her lawyer, the courts, sheriff David Pender, the Crown and Polmont governor Brenda Stewart. They have now turned their attention to Forth Val ley NHS, who were responsible for Katie’s wellbeing . The Al lans are furious that a GP did not raise concerns after seeing Katie in the prison. They say more should have been done to help when it became obvious Katie was suffering from alopecia.
In a letter to Forth Valley NHS’s director of nursing Angela Wallace, Linda wrote: “Katie’s legal representative emailed the governor of Polmont on the 26th of April, at our request, to seek medical intervention for Katie’s rapid hair loss.
“Katie had tried and failed on several occasions to access nursing or medical treatment and was being tormented and bullied because of her hair loss by other girls in her hall.
“The Scottish Prison Service highlighted this to the NHS staff as a direct result of our intervention.
“When Katie began to lose her hair I asked if Katie be allowed a head scarf or ‘ bandana’ to cover the apparent areas of baldness.
“This was refused by the reception staff at HMP & YOI Polmont.
“SPS staf f contacted the health centre before the 27th of April seeking advice on how to get Katie a head covering. Katie reported that a prison officer called the health centre and spoke with a member of the nursing team asking if Katie be allowed a head scarf or bandana.
“The nurse stated that they indeed had such items and would bring some to Katie’s hall. A nurse went to Katie’s hall with two bananas.
“As amusing as this story was at the time, it is a tragic representation of the blatant incompetence of the nursing staff.”
Dad Stuart said: “It sums up the sheer incompetence that we have encountered every step of the way.”
The Sunday Mail revealed Katie’s tragic story last month and her fami ly and lawyer Aamer Anwar are campaigning for reform of the system.
Katie was locked up despite a plea from the family of Michael Keenan, 15, who was struck by her car in Gif fnock, near Glasgow, in August last year.
The Scottish Prison Service have refused to comment until after a fatal accident inquiry.
Forth Valley NHS did not respond to requests for comment.