Keith Turner was not put on the Prison Service suicide watchlist or self-harm monitoring and healthcare staff did not flag any concerns about his suicidal thoughts to prison staff, an inquest has heard
A prisoner repeatedly told officers he was plagued by suicidal thoughts – with his wife sounding the alarm on the tragic day he passed away.
Keith Turner’s cries for help went unheard as he wasn’t placed on the Prison Service’s watchlist for suicide and self-harm, and healthcare workers at HMP Humber didn’t communicate his mental state to prison officials. The clinical reviewer pinpointed numerous chances missed by the mental health team to provide Mr Turner with the support he desperately needed.
Sue McAllister CB, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, highlighted grave oversights in her investigation into Mr Turner’s death: “On the morning of Mr Turner’s death, around an hour before he was found, his wife called the prison’s switchboard and asked if someone could check on her husband because she had not heard from him that morning.”
She expressed serious concerns about the response to this plea for help: “I am concerned that the switchboard operator did not refer Mr Turner’s wife to the Safer Custody hotline. This was a missed opportunity for someone to check on Mr Turner.”
Moreover, McAllister pointed out the critical delay in medical response: “I am also concerned that there was a delay in sending an emergency ambulance to treat Mr Turner, as prison staff initially gave insufficient information to the ambulance service for them to treat the call as an emergency.”, reports Hull Live.
Mr Turner was serving a sentence of three years and nine months, handed down by York Crown Court in March 2019 after admitting to controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate relationship. His history included a previous 16-month sentence in 2012 for abusive behaviour towards two other women.
On 19 March that year, Mr Turner was transferred from HMP Hull to HMP Humber. In December, he confessed to healthcare staff that he harboured suicidal thoughts, but claimed his wife and daughter were stopping him from taking his life and he was “adamant” he would not harm himself.
His worried wife rang HMP Humber’s switchboard at 8.53am on 9 January 2020, because she hadn’t heard from her husband that morning when he would usually call before 8am on weekdays, aside from Bank Holidays. An oversight happened when the operator told her that since Mr Turner had been in touch within the last week, they couldn’t provide an update, the report shows. The crucial step of directing her to the prison’s Safer Custody hotline was missed.
Then, around 9.55am, Mr Turner was discovered by a fellow inmate lying in his cell in a pool of blood, having sustained a self-inflicted injury. Despite attempts by prison staff and paramedics to save him, he was declared dead by an air ambulance doctor at 10.34am. Ms McAllister offered her sympathies to Mr Turner’s loved ones in her report. Although the investigation took place in October 2020, publication was on hold until after the conclusion of the inquest into Mr Turners death.
The jury at the inquest, which ran from 16 to 23 September 2024, ruled that Mr Turner died by suicide. A spokesperson for the Prison Service expressed their condolences, telling the outlet: “Our thoughts remain with the friends and family of Keith Turner. Since his death, HMP Humber has made significant improvements, including better communication between healthcare and prison staff, enhanced training for managing prisoners at risk, and the introduction of a dedicated safer custody line.”
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