HMP Wandsworth prisoner would still be alive' without failings, watchdog rules

"A damning investigation found staff repeatedly missed opportunities to help Rajwinder Singh, 36, who took his own life just 11 days after arriving at the South London prison in June 2023. Staff were found to have falsified records, ignored his call bell and did not check on him when his wife phoned with concerns for his welfare the same day he died."

"The failures in this case were voluminous and diverse. There were multiple opportunities for meaningful interventions within Mr Singh's care that would have led to a different outcome, that were repeatedly missed. I do not make the following statement lightly, but I consider that had Mr Singh been sent to a different prison in 2023, not in such a state of crisis, he would almost certainly still be alive today."

Staff repeatedly missed opportunities to help Rajwinder Singh, 36, who took his own life 11 days after arriving at HMP Wandsworth in June 2023. Staff falsified records, ignored his call bell and did not check on him when his wife phoned with concerns the day he died. Singh had fibromyalgia, asthma, alcohol problems and depression and was on medication. His suicide and self-harm risk was not properly assessed on arrival despite prior self-harm and suicide attempts. He was poorly managed under ACCT, not checked hourly, had long gaps between recorded checks, and never had a case coordinator.

Read at www.standard.co.uk