© Tom Blewitt & Zack Griffiths – HMP Prisons Justice Group
A prisoner at HMP Parc died after suffering a cardiac arrest linked to the use of a synthetic drug, an investigation has found.
Martyn Bruce was discovered unresponsive on the floor of his cell at the privately operated Bridgend prison on July 20, 2022.
Prison officers immediately began CPR before nurses and paramedics arrived. Medical staff were initially able to restore a pulse and Mr Bruce was taken to hospital, where he was placed into an induced coma.
However, scans later showed no signs of brain activity.
Following discussions between hospital staff and his family, life support was withdrawn and Mr Bruce died on July 27 with relatives at his bedside.
An investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman concluded that Mr Bruce’s sudden cardiac arrest had been caused by the use of a psychoactive substance, often referred to as PS or Spice.
Toxicology testing detected traces of a synthetic cannabinoid in his system.
His medical cause of death was recorded as hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy — a severe loss of oxygen and blood supply to the brain — and pneumonia resulting from the cardiac arrest.
The investigation also uncovered disturbing intelligence received by prison staff following Mr Bruce’s death.
Information suggested that other prisoners may have been using him as a “tester” for drugs circulating on the wing.
The Ombudsman said the intelligence was passed to the South Wales Police Crime in Prison Team for further investigation.
The report stated: “We found that prison staff received intelligence following Mr Bruce’s death to suggest that other prisoners might have used him as a ‘tester’ for drugs on the wing.
“The prison shared all appropriate information with South Wales Police Crime in Prison Team for the purposes of further investigation.”
Any subsequent police investigation fell outside the scope of the Ombudsman’s inquiry.
Mr Bruce had a long history of substance misuse and had previously suffered seizures after taking psychoactive substances.
He was transferred to HMP Parc in September 2018.
During his time at the prison, staff found him apparently under the influence of suspected psychoactive substances on several occasions.
In October 2018, he suffered a seizure after taking an unknown substance and was taken to hospital.
Further incidents were recorded in November 2019, September and November 2020, and during June and July 2021.
On those occasions, prison or healthcare staff assessed him and opened Substance Misuse Observation Records where necessary.
He was also reviewed by the prison’s rapid-response substance misuse team and provided with harm-reduction advice.
Mr Bruce told healthcare staff that he experienced post-traumatic stress, anxiety, nightmares and intrusive thoughts and said that taking psychoactive substances helped him temporarily forget his difficulties.
In July 2021, traces of synthetic cannabinoids were detected during a routine drug test and a further review with the prison’s substance misuse service was planned.
Further work addressing both his mental health and substance use had also been considered.
On the morning he was found unresponsive, Mr Bruce met his prison offender manager and was described as appearing “really positive” and in a “really good mood”.
He was told that his community offender manager intended to visit the following week to discuss a possible transfer to open prison conditions.
Routine checks were carried out at around 7am and 12.35pm with no concerns recorded.
At approximately 4.37pm, another prisoner alerted an officer after Mr Bruce appeared unresponsive.
The officer entered the cell and found him face down on the floor before immediately calling for assistance.
A medical “code blue” was declared and officers began CPR.
Two nurses arrived minutes later, attached a defibrillator and continued resuscitation attempts.
Paramedics reached the cell at around 5.01pm and managed to detect a pulse, although Mr Bruce suffered further cardiac arrests.
He was stabilised and transported to hospital, suffering another cardiac arrest during the journey.
The Ombudsman concluded that the clinical care Mr Bruce received at HMP Parc was equivalent to the treatment he could have expected in the community.
Investigators found that his general healthcare needs had been appropriately managed through GP appointments, medication and counselling.
The report also found that staff responded appropriately when he had previously appeared under the influence of drugs.
Investigators said his substance misuse history was documented, staff were aware of his needs and referrals had been made for ongoing support.
Crucially, the Ombudsman found no evidence that prison staff missed an opportunity to identify that Mr Bruce possessed psychoactive substances before he took them.
Investigators believed he had been careful to conceal the substances.
However, serious concern was expressed about the wider availability of drugs inside HMP Parc, with the report noting that Mr Bruce had been able to obtain substances on a number of occasions.
HMP Parc is a medium-security prison in Bridgend operated by G4S and accommodates around 1,600 adult male prisoners and young offenders.
An inspection conducted shortly before Mr Bruce’s death found that drugs remained a significant threat within the prison.
Inspectors nevertheless identified work being carried out to disrupt drug supplies, including cooperation with police over suspected staff corruption and investment in drone detection, mobile phone detection, scanners and equipment intended to identify psychoactive substances sprayed onto incoming mail.
The Ombudsman said Parc had introduced a comprehensive strategy based on lessons learned from previous drug-related deaths.
It concluded that the prison’s risk-management and support procedures had been correctly followed in Mr Bruce’s case.
No recommendations were made concerning his substance misuse treatment or the prison’s response to the fatal incident.
The report concluded: “We are concerned about the availability of drugs at Parc which Mr Bruce had accessed on a number of occasions.
“However, we found no evidence that staff had missed opportunities to intercept this or identify that Mr Bruce was in possession of PS before he used it.”
