© Tom Blewitt & Zack Griffiths – HMP Prisons Justice Group
HMP Parc, operated by private security firm G4S, is facing renewed scrutiny after failing to inform the family of an inmate who was hospitalised following a heart attack.
The incident came to light through the HMP Prisons Justice Group, which received a tip-off that an inmate had been taken to the Princess of Wales Hospital. A witness confirmed seeing two officers accompanying the inmate during the emergency admission.
Despite the seriousness of the medical event, the prison did not notify the inmate’s next of kin. The inmate’s sister only learned of the heart attack after her brother phoned her upon returning to Parc Prison.
“We didn’t hear a thing until I had a short phone call off him, which he told me he had to go to hospital,” she said.
This failure to communicate raises serious concerns about the prison’s duty of care and its legal and ethical responsibility to inform family members in the event of a medical emergency. In such cases, notifying next of kin is not just a courtesy—it is a fundamental obligation.
The lack of transparency has left the family shaken and the public questioning the standards of care within the facility. It also adds to a growing list of concerns surrounding G4S’s management of HMP Parc. Over a three-year period, 38 deaths have been recorded at facility, prompting calls for G4S to leave the prison and be stripped of their contract
Incidents like this expose a deeper culture of neglect within Parc Prison. When families are kept in the dark during medical emergencies, it shatters trust and fuels panic and anxiety. Loved ones are left to agonize daily, wondering if those inside are safe, cared for, or even alive.
The HMP Prisons Justice Group will continue to investigate the incident and is calling for immediate accountability so that no family is ever blindsided by a medical crisis behind prison walls again.
A spokesperson for HMP Prisons Justice Group said:
“This incident is totally unacceptable. The prison is duty bound to inform the next of kin that their loved one has been taken to hospital. The fact they haven’t done this shows the lack of empathy they have not only for the inmates for the the familes on the outside.”
“HMP Prisons Justice Group is calling on the person responsible for this to be sacked and taken off duty with immediate effect. The anxiety caused is totally unacceptable. G4S needs to be stripped of its contract and the prison brought under Govenment control as a matter of urgency”
HMP Prisons Justice Group 