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A death sentence? The inmates dying after poor prison healthcare.
More prisoners are dying in jail – even after you account for the growing - and ageing -prison population. Many of those found to be so-called ‘natural cause deaths’ are relatively young: more than a third are aged between 35 and 54.
Those who’ve been behind bars a short time are at greatest risk…with health records often not consulted and vital medication delayed, sometimes for months.
File on 4 investigates cases where failings in the prison healthcare system contributed to the deaths of inmates – all aged under 50. Their deaths followed basic, shocking, errors: unopened medical records, hospital appointments missed, prisoners not given vital medication - or given the wrong medication that made their condition worse. Prisoners who became gravely ill accused of ‘faking it’.
The programme hears from the family of prisoners, a prison health worker who’s concerned about a lack of resources and the impact of measures to contain Covid. And from experts who say recommendations made time and time again following avoidable deaths simply aren’t being implemented – putting more prisoners at risk in the future.

Reporter: Jane Deith
Producer: Ben Robinson
Editor: Nicola Addyman