High Security Prisons Group

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First report 7 Nov 2014•Latest report 7 Nov 2014

Reports, concerns and published responses

Reports over time

Reports naming this recipient by issue year.

* 2026 is projected from reports observed to 7 Sep 2026.

Reports
1

Naming this recipient

Published responses
0%

Found for named reports

Concerns addressed
0

Across all linked responses

Stated actions
0

Described in responses

Concerns and recipient responses

Statements from High Security Prisons Group linked to the concerns in each report. Select any concern, action or position to view the source wording.

  1. West Yorkshire Eastern

    AI-generated summary

    Colin John Ireland · Prevention of Future Deaths report

    This summary was generated using AI from the published report. Please read the original report for the complete account.

    Report summary

    Colin John Ireland, a diabetic prisoner at HMP Wakefield, fell and fractured his left hip during exercise in icy weather on 11 February 2012. After surgery and discharge to the prison healthcare centre, he collapsed and died on 21 February 2012; the inquest recorded pulmonary thromboembolism and deep venous thrombosis. Concerns included delay in transferring him to hospital, difficulties with the high-security prison approval system, and the absence of an agreed protocol and training for Governors responding to medical emergencies.

    Read the report on judiciary.uk

    Source evidence

    How this individual concern was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. The report was sent to High Security Prisons Group; that does not assign responsibility.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Lack of an agreed protocol for seeking approval for emergency release to hospital

    Wider context from the report

    “3. That the Governor Grade Officers who gave evidence had differing views as to the action to be taken, in particular in relation to seeking approval from the High Security Prisons Group regarding release to hospital in such circumstances. I consider that there should be an agreed protocol for this and that all on-duty Governors should receive appropriate training regarding responding to medical emergencies of all types to ensure a speedy release to hospital when necessary, obviously without prejudicing appropriate security issues. Although the Duty Governor claimed to acknowledge that preservation of life was paramount, he appeared to be more motivated by Mr Ireland’s notoriety than to the serious issues of his condition which created an unacceptable delay. ”
    Open source report

    Source evidence

    How this individual concern was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. The report was sent to High Security Prisons Group; that does not assign responsibility.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Inadequate training of on-duty Governors in responding to medical emergencies

    Wider context from the report

    “3. That the Governor Grade Officers who gave evidence had differing views as to the action to be taken, in particular in relation to seeking approval from the High Security Prisons Group regarding release to hospital in such circumstances. I consider that there should be an agreed protocol for this and that all on-duty Governors should receive appropriate training regarding responding to medical emergencies of all types to ensure a speedy release to hospital when necessary, obviously without prejudicing appropriate security issues. Although the Duty Governor claimed to acknowledge that preservation of life was paramount, he appeared to be more motivated by Mr Ireland’s notoriety than to the serious issues of his condition which created an unacceptable delay. ”
    Open source report

    Source evidence

    How this individual concern was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. The report was sent to High Security Prisons Group; that does not assign responsibility.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Failure of the on-call system to provide reliable telephone access to the responsible approval function

    Wider context from the report

    “2. That the same Governor Grade Officer had difficulty in contacting by telephone the on-call [████████] for the High Security Prison Group to seek permission for Mr Ireland to be sent to hospital. Apparently, [████████] was not responding to her calls. I request that the Director of the High Security Prison Group specifically address this issue in response to this report. Fortunately, the Governor had through his own dealings with [████████] who was then the Director of High Security Prisons, his contact details who was then able to give the relevant permission. I understand that this was an unofficial approach which I do not criticise but would point out that other Duty Governors may not have had access to [████████] number, which would have lengthened the delay. It occurs to me that the on-call system is flawed and should be reviewed. ”
    Open source report

    Source evidence

    How this individual concern was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. The report was sent to High Security Prisons Group; that does not assign responsibility.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Failure to prioritise preservation of life over security concerns in emergency medical decisions

    Wider context from the report

    “3. That the Governor Grade Officers who gave evidence had differing views as to the action to be taken, in particular in relation to seeking approval from the High Security Prisons Group regarding release to hospital in such circumstances. I consider that there should be an agreed protocol for this and that all on-duty Governors should receive appropriate training regarding responding to medical emergencies of all types to ensure a speedy release to hospital when necessary, obviously without prejudicing appropriate security issues. Although the Duty Governor claimed to acknowledge that preservation of life was paramount, he appeared to be more motivated by Mr Ireland’s notoriety than to the serious issues of his condition which created an unacceptable delay. ”
    Open source report

    Source evidence

    How this individual concern was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. The report was sent to High Security Prisons Group; that does not assign responsibility.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Failure to appropriately act on clinical judgement of a potentially life-threatening condition

    Wider context from the report

    “1. That a Governor Grade Officer who had sole responsibility for the running of the Prison challenged the clinical judgement and decisions of both an experienced nurse and an on-call GP who believed that Mr Ireland had fractured his hip and that this was a potentially life-threatening condition and that he should be sent to hospital as an emergency. ”
    Open source report
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Information checked against published PFD reports and official responses · Data reviewed 7 Sep 2026 · About data quality and limitations

Data last updated 7 September 2026