Prison inmates ‘at risk of death’ due to healthcare failings, says inquest report

HMP Wormwood Scrubs in west London. The inquest’s conclusions come at a time when the overall number of deaths in prison has increased. Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA

An inquest report has warned that prisoners are “at risk of death” because of failures in the healthcare system, after a man killed himself at Wormwood Scrubs prison in west London 48 hours after arriving there.

A jury at the inquest into the death of Jack Zarrop, 23, at the prison on 20 March 2021, found a number of failures contributed, both while he was in police custody and after he was taken to Wormwood Scrubs on remand.