HMP Wandsworth staff failed to check welfare of prisoner in the months before he took his life

By Charlotte Lillywhite 

Wing staff at a prison failed to carry out welfare checks on a man facing extradition to Poland in the 11 months before he took his own life. 

Przemyslaw Wozniak, 34, was found dead in his cell at HMP Wandsworth on February 17, 2021.

Mr Wozniak was taken to HMP Wandsworth on December 23, 2019, awaiting extradition to his home country of Poland to face charges of fraud, robbery and theft. 

The primary care team assessed Mr Wozniak on January 3, 2020, and decided he was not depressed and had no other long-term mental health problems.

Mr Wozniak’s key worker spoke to him regularly until March 13, 2020, when all key work was stopped at the prison due to the Covid pandemic. A Prisons and Probation Ombudsman report found no record of wing staff checking his welfare after that.

The report also said there was no evidence that prison or healthcare staff considered whether Mr Wozniak had language difficulties. 

It stated: “Polish was Mr Wozniak’s first language, and although he could speak and write in English to some extent, explaining complex emotional and mental health needs in a language a prisoner is not proficient in can lead to miscommunication.”

A court ordered Mr Wozniak’s extradition to Poland on April 16. He applied for permission to appeal the order, but a decision on his application was postponed pending the outcome of a related appeal. He was still waiting for a decision when he died.

Mr Wozniak self-referred to the prison’s specialist mental health team seven times between February 2020 and February 2021. He was only seen in person by the team on the seventh occasion. 

He told a nurse at this appointment that he may have ‘depression and be misunderstood’. The nurse arranged for a GP to review his mood, but when the GP visited Mr Wozniak on February 12 – while he also had sinusitis – he prescribed ibuprofen, but did not ask him about his mood.

An officer found Mr Wozniak dead in his cell on February 17. They raised a general alarm, instead of using the medical emergency code, which led to a three-minute delay in staff calling an ambulance.

Paramedics were unable to revive Mr Wozniak. He was pronounced dead later that afternoon. 

An inquest on January 20, 2023, found he died by suicide.

The ombudsman’s report said: “We are very concerned that there is no evidence that staff checked Mr Wozniak’s welfare or had any meaningful interactions with him during the 11 months before his death. 

“No one appears to have recognised that the continuing uncertainty about his possible extradition may have been a risk factor for Mr Wozniak.”

Although Mr Wozniak never told anyone he was having suicidal thoughts, the report said, staff were unlikely to pick up on any chances that may suggest he was at risk if they did not have meaningful or regular contact with him.

Mr Wozniak was the fourth prisoner to take his own life at HMP Wandsworth since February 2019. There have been another five suicides at the prison since his death, which are being investigated by the ombudsman.

A Prison Service spokesman said: “Our thoughts remain with the friends and family of Przemyslaw Wozniak. We have accepted and have implemented all of the ombudsman’s recommendations, including reviewing the local operational policy for mental health referrals and HMP Wandsworth has reminded staff what is expected of them during medical emergencies.”

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, which provides mental health services at the prison, has been contacted for comment.

Pictured top: HMP Wandsworth (Picture: Facundo Arrizabalaga)