Prison criticised following the death of inmate
APRISONER serving a fiveyear sentence who was found hanging in his cell on his 40th birthday died in hospital three days later, a report has revealed.
A watchdog has criticised Buckley Hall Prison in Rochdale after launching an investigation into the death of Ryan Brennan.
The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) said it found his care ‘could have been managed better’ and wasn’t ‘equivalent to that which he could have expected to receive in the community’.
Some staff involved in events leading up to his death were suspended, all of whom have since returned to work bar one woman who was interviewed under caution by police, although officers took no further action. She has since left the prison service, the PPO report said.
Brennan was jailed in November 2021 after going on a knife rampage the morning after a birthday drink and drugs binge.
A judge said it was only by sheer chance no-one was killed in the ordeal in Warrington.
A court heard after drinking and taking drugs the night before his birthday, Brennan rammed a Nissan Juke into the back of a Volkswagen Polo then threatened the driver with a knife in the early hours of August 20, 2021. He went on to threaten other motorists then took a BMW at knifepoint from a woman at a post office before crashing it into a fence, narrowly missing a dog walker.
In what police called a ‘terrifying ordeal,’ Brennan pleaded guilty to a number of offences, including dangerous driving, threats to kill, affray, aggravated vehicle taking, driving without a licence or insurance.
He was moved to Buckley Hall on November 25, 2021.
The PPO, in its published report, said Brennan had a history of substance misuse and mental health issues.
He was found in a cell of the prison’s segregation unit on August 20, 2022, and died in hospital three days later.
The watchdog said it was the first ‘self-inflicted’ death at the prison on Buckley Farm Lane in Rochdale since 2017.
The report said: “Mr Brennan was clearly struggling in the months before his death, although there
were no clear indications why. His risk of suicide dramatically rose in the 24 hours leading to his death and he was subject to suicide and self-harm monitoring procedures.
“Our investigation found some aspects of his care could have been managed better. The clinical reviewer found aspects of Mr Brennan’s clinical care were not equivalent to that which he could have expected to receive in the community.”
Brennan was moved to the prison’s segregation unit on August 19 after ‘he appeared intoxicated and was making threats to other prisoners’.
He was said to have been abusive and aggressive to staff and smashed a glass observation panel to his cell.
Staff began a period of five observations an hour. The last check was recorded in paperwork as being 1.45pm, but CCTV analysed as part of the investigation proved it was actually 1.34pm. He was found at 1.52pm.
The report said: “The officer responsible for the check has left the Prison Service. Police interviewed her under caution, but took no further action.”
Brennan was given CPR and paramedics were called, but he didn’t regain consciousness and passed away in hospital.
The report found staff didn’t temporarily repair the broken observation panel or record that they considered moving him to another cell.
Ombudsman Adrian Usher’s report said: “Staff working in the segregation unit told us that they did not feel adequately trained or supported to carry out their duties competently, safely and effectively.
“The clinical reviewer... found that the service provided by the mental health team was a matter of concern. She made several recommendations.
“Some staff involved in events leading up to Mr Brennan’s death were suspended, pending an internal investigation.
“Those that we spoke to were concerned about the way they had been treated and how this was communicated to them by prison managers.
“All staff eventually returned to work following the investigation, although one officer subsequently left the Prison Service.”
HMP Buckley Hall is a category C training prison for men and has four residential blocks with an operational capacity of 459.
The report reveals in its last inspection, in July 2019, ‘inspectors reported an excellent inspection’.
The prison has now been ordered to implement a series of recommendations.
Brennan, from Appleton in Warrington, had been in prison twice before, but the five-year sentence was his first in 12 years.
The report reveals an inquest held last month concluded he took his own life by means of selfligature, but it was unclear whether his intention was to end his life.
A jury, however, concluded the ‘failure in the awareness and removal of the broken observation panel more than minimally contributed to Mr Brennan’s death’.
Our sister paper the Manchester Evening News has approached the Ministry of Justice for comment.