No blame attached to authorities after Thameside prisoner died from overdose, report concludes
By Joe Coughlan, Local Democracy Reporter
A prisoner was found dead following a heroin overdose three days after being released from a South London prison.
The individual was reportedly homeless after his release and had shown a history of substance misuse.
Ged Corbett was sent to HMP Thameside in April 2023 after failing to comply with a requirement of the sexual offences order.
He was sentenced a week after he was released from HMP Hull following a previous assault conviction.
An ombudsman’s report said Mr Corbett was already on a methadone detoxification programme to treat his heroin withdrawal when he arrived at the prison.
He was then put under the care of the prison’s substance misuse service (SMS) and a care plan was agreed for him that May.
Mr Corbett was given harm minimisation advice while in prison and warned about the dangers of taking other drugs and misusing his prescribed medication.
He was also reportedly told of the risks from sharing needles and overdosing following a period of abstinence.
Mr Corbett told his community offender manager (COM) at this time that he wished to be released to Woolwich where he had family support and job opportunities.
However, the staff member found that the prisoner had outstanding allegations of domestic abuse against him in the area so it was deemed unsuitable for him to return to Woolwich.
Mr Corbett was released from HMP Thameside on August 16 last year with a supply of naloxone and training information on how to safely administer it. He was supposed to contact a housing officer in York upon his release but never did.
The report said: “On the morning of August 19, a member of the public found Mr Corbett outside an address in London. Police and paramedics arrived and pronounced Mr Corbett dead at 11.24am.”
The post-mortem report for Mr Corbett concluded he had died of acute respiratory depression and coma due to heroin toxicity. An inquest in January this year also concluded that the death was drug-related.
The ombudsman noted that Mr Corbett had a history of substance misuse, and found that he had received appropriate treatment for this during his time at HMP Thameside before being transferred to a community SMS upon his release.
The report added that Mr Corbett’s COM had liaised with external support agencies and completed the relevant housing referrals to local authorities and housing agencies due to him being homeless after being released.
A Serco spokesman said: “We were saddened to learn of the death of Mr Corbett, who we supported during his time at HMP Thameside. Our thoughts are with his family and those who knew him.”
Picture: HMP Thameside (Picture: Google Street View)