The care of prisoners vulnerable to suicide and self harm is not high enough on the agenda of the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS), according to a report published yesterday into how six inmates - four men and two women - took their own lives over a two-year period.
Prof Roy McClelland, a mental health specialist from Queen's University Belfast, published a critical report on how the six "non-natural deaths" occurred in Northern Ireland's prisons from June 2002 to March 2004.
Prof McClelland indicated there was an inevitability about most of the six suicides but that some of them might have been prevented or at least delayed. He pointed to a fundamental weakness in how the prison service provided support for those at risk of suicide.
In an effort to reduce the incidence of prison suicide, security minister Shaun Woodward has agreed that from April next year the primary responsibility for prisoner healthcare will pass from the NIPS to the Department of Health.
"While understanding the difficult climate that staff and managers operate in, the management of vulnerable prisoners is not high enough on the agenda of the NIPS at operational and headquarters level," the report said.
"There is a lack of health structures and a lack of a clear leadership in relation to mental health services," said Prof McClelland.
His report has 30 recommendations including one which asserts that "governors and their management team must display more leadership on suicide and risk management procedures in order to protect the vulnerable".
Prof McClelland emphasised the importance of sharing information on prisoners. "Our observations consistently show a lack of connectivity between healthcare in the wider community and in the prison system."