Family of man who died in HMP Pentonville say 'nobody should be treated that way'

The family of a man who died in prison say he shouldn't have died alone and nobody should be treated the way he was.

Wayne Bayley died on May 17 2022, six days after he had been remanded to HMP Pentonville.

An inquest found that neglect in prison contributed to his death.

Lorraine Bailey, Wayne's cousin, said: "Wayne passed away in 2022 and from then up until now, it's been a struggle to come to terms with him not being here."

His aunt, Valda Bayley, added: "I kept saying to myself, we were all at home that evening, getting on with our life and he was actually dying on his own and it just doesn't seem right, but that should happen.

"I don't think anybody should die on their own, really. But the fact that it happened to him, it's even more sad that we didn't get to say bye...I don't think anybody, nobody should have to be treated that way or have to go through that at all."

The 43-year-old was found unresponsive in a cell on the healthcare unit in the prison, 10 hours after he was restrained by prison officers after complaining about the condition of his cell.

He had sickle cell disease, epilepsy and delusional disorder for which he was taking medication.

He was moved to a segregated cell and subject to a forcible strip search which involved his clothes being cut off and being left naked for seven hours.

The restraint that police had him under resulted in acute chest syndrome, a complication caused by sickle cell disease.

He told staff at the prison that he could not breathe, but his pleas were ignored.

His family say they're struggling to process the conclusion of the inquest.

Valda continued: "We're left feeling numb at the moment because after the day, after everything was finished, you're lost... so if we can help to save another family, make awareness so somebody else doesn't have to go through, what then? Wayne didn't die in vain.

"We don't want him to want it to be that he died for nothing. So this is why we're doing this, because we want other people to know and if you don't agree with something, don't accept it.

"Push further and see. You need to get a proper answer, which is what we wanted."

The nurse did not complete the initial assessment to determine whether Mr Bayley was fit to be segregated but segregation officers thought she planned later to do it. However, she later confirmed she was not going to do it and that a mental health nurse should do it, who then concluded he was not fit for segregation.

There was an arrangement for Wayne to be moved to the inpatient unit but when he arrived he told staff he could not breathe - it was around three hours later staff became concerned and he was pronounced dead that night.

The nurse responsible for monitoring his physical health during and after the restraint failed to address the worsening of his condition.

In particular, she did not take vital observations that an expert haematologist considered would have confirmed that the restraint had triggered a sickle cell crisis. This would have required urgent hospital treatment which would have saved his life.

Lorraine added: "The emphasis at the end of the day is they are from Wayne's case.''

"They have things, they are putting things into place. But what we want is further development of that, further training, further awareness and for that to be replicated to nationally through all prisons, not just one prison.''

"So yes, they're doing it at Pentonville, we heard that. But are they doing it everywhere else? What are government doing to ensure that it's been done everywhere else? Because if the practices are good, it should be replicated. And so for us it's wider. If something's good for one, then it should be good [for all]."

The findings also included that the initial use of force was not justified and the lack of a healthcare professional when Wayne was moved was a missed opportunity. His request to see a doctor was also not properly followed up.

"It's not just about sickle cell because people can have many long term illnesses in it that you can't see straight away," continued Valda.

"So if they put something like that in place, no matter what it is, it will make them aware. Okay, this person's got 'xyz' so you can keep a closer eye and monitor them better than they are doing now. So it's not just sickle cell...It could be anything."

A Prison Service spokesperson said: "Our thoughts are with Mr Bayley’s family and friends at this difficult time.

“Following Mr Bayley’s death, we have improved training for prison staff around the use of force and segregation to ensure that prisoners and prison staff are kept safe. We will respond to the Prevention of Future Deaths report in due course.”

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