People with health issues in police custody are being denied medication

People in police custody with health issues are regularly put at risk because medication is delayed or unavailable, according to new research.

A study involving researchers from Northumbria and Durham University, led by Newcastle University, found that detainees are frequently denied the healthcare they need due to a lack of nurses and other Healthcare Providers (HCPs) available to cover custody suites across a number of locations.

Medications being withheld include prescribed drugs for the treatment of epilepsy, cancer, mental health conditions and insulin for diabetes, as well as methadone and other opioid replacements.

The researchers also highlighted that Custody Officers were often sceptical or mistrustful about the legitimacy of detainees’ health conditions and their requests for medication, and found that practices are followed that prevent medications being issued

These factors all contribute to different levels of care being provided across Police Force areas, creating a ‘postcode lottery’ in terms of which medications HCPs were able to provide to detainees.

The research team, which involved Tracy Finch, Professor of Healthcare and Implementation Science in Northumbria University’s Department of Nursing, Midwifery and Health, have made a number of recommendations to improve the standard of healthcare delivery in police custody.

The recommendations include properly embedding Healthcare Providers in all custody suites and calling for all Healthcare Providers to sign up to a standardised medication list and Patient Group Directive framework that allows them to administer medicines to patients who meet specific criteria, without the need for a prescription from a doctor.

They also recommend that detainees with drug and alcohol dependencies to be regarded by custody teams as vulnerable people, and that an appropriate adult is provided to assist the detained person in preparing for the police interview.

Professor Finch, who is an expert in implementing changes in practice, said: “We know that ensuring the consistent and timely provision of healthcare can be challenging, especially in complex settings like police custody. It requires different organisations working closely together in partnership, with policies and processes that align to a common goal and that allow for the care to be provided to individuals as it is needed.

“Our study identified shortcomings in some of these areas. But by gaining a detailed understanding of these challenges from the perspectives of health care providers, police, and persons with experience of being detained and by maintaining their involvement in this research, we hope to support further work to improve how healthcare is provided to those detained in custody.”

One person who had experience of being detained in police custody without access to healthcare told the research team that they were left to suffer in a cell without the medication they need.

“The healthcare in there is absolutely hopeless,” said the anonymous interviewee. “You get arrested and you’re detained for 12 hours and you’re in a cell sick because the healthcare won’t help you. They won’t give you methadone, let alone phone up the chemist and ask if this guy is on a prescription and if he is taking his methadone. They don’t provide you with anything like that, so they make you suffer in a cell, sweating, being sick, diarrhoea, and you just want to end your life.”

Dr Gethin Rees, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Newcastle University, who led the study said: “Healthcare provision in police custody at the present time does not meet the standards of “Availability, Accessibility, Acceptability, and Good Quality” adapted from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  We have provided recommendations that will assist healthcare provider companies and the police to meet these minimum standards.”    

The report was welcomed by the Independent Custody Visiting Association, with its Chief Executive Officer, Sherry Ralph, saying it echoed their own findings and shone a light into healthcare provision in police custody.

Ms Ralph said that “varying arrangements across forces” was in place, with “gaps in coverage leading to sometimes long wait times for detainees to see a healthcare professional to discuss their needs.”

Further information.

Click here to read more about the Equivalence in Police Custody Healthcare study.  

Visit the Northumbria Research Portal to find out more about Professor Tracy Finch’s work.