UK deportation centre used force 18 times to stop self-harm last year, figures show – The Guardian

Posted April 20th, 2023 in asylum, detention, news, self-harm, suicide by sally

‘Asylum seekers awaiting deportation at a detention centre were physically prevented from taking their own lives or self-harming on 18 occasions last year, detailed official accounts show.’

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The Guardian, 19th April 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

West Lane Hospital: Mental health care ‘chaotic and unsafe’ – BBC News

Posted March 21st, 2023 in hospitals, mental health, news, reports, self-harm, young persons by tracey

‘A mental health unit criticised over the deaths of three teenagers was “chaotic and unsafe”, a report found.’

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BBC News, 21st March 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Exeter Prison ‘needs to be safer to make community safer’ – BBC News

Posted February 17th, 2023 in death in custody, mental health, news, prisons, self-harm, statistics, suicide by tracey

‘A Devon prison has to be safer for inmates to ensure communities are safer, an inspector has said.’

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BBC News, 16th February 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Archie Battersbee’s death was an accident, coroner concludes – The Guardian

Posted February 9th, 2023 in accidents, children, inquests, mental health, news, self-harm by sally

‘Archie Battersbee, whose parents fought a lengthy battle to prevent his life support being switched off, died as a result of a prank or experiment gone wrong, a coroner has concluded.’

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The Guardian, 8th February 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Judge lambasts education secretary over lack of secure places for children – The Guardian

‘The country’s most senior family judge has accused the education secretary of “complacency bordering on cynicism” in a scathing judgment that deplores the lack of secure, therapeutic placements in England and Wales for scores of children with complex needs at risk of taking their own lives.’

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The Guardian, 31st January 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Law Commission recommendation targeting the encouragement of serious self-harm to be included in Online Safety Bill – Law Commission

‘Last week the Government announced that it will update the Online Safety Bill to include the Law Commission’s recommendation to make encouraging or assisting serious self-harm an offence.’

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Law Commission, 29th November 2022

Source: www.lawcom.gov.uk

NHS pays out £20m in clinical negligence claims over children’s mental health care – The Independent

Posted April 11th, 2022 in assault, children, compensation, hospitals, mental health, negligence, news, self-harm by tracey

‘The NHS has paid out at least £20m over poor care in children’s mental health services, a leaked report has revealed.’

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The Independent, 10th April 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

People with mental illness in criminal justice system failed ‘at every stage’ – The Independent

‘The criminal justice system is “failing” people with a mental illness “at every stage”, a major report has found has found.’

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The Independent, 17h November 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Leeds prison punished inmates by restricting showers, report finds – The Guardian

‘Prisoners were unlawfully prevented from showering daily as punishment for poor behaviour, with shielding and self-isolating inmates also unable to do so, according to a damning report.’

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The Guardian, 12th August 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Family lawyers suffering from job insecurity and stress, survey finds – Legal Futures

‘Only half of family law professionals feel secure in their jobs right now, while a quarter are actively considering leaving the profession due to wellbeing concerns, major research has found.’

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Family Law, 21st May 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Home Office’s rush to deport asylum seekers before Brexit was ‘inhumane’, watchdog finds – The Independent

‘The Home Office’s rush to deport asylum seekers last year ahead of Brexit amounted to “inhumane treatment,” a watchdog has found. In its annual report for 2020, the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) for the Brook House Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) raised concerns around the impact of the government ramping up efforts to remove people arriving on small boats from the UK in the later months of 2020.’

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The Independent, 20th May 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Torture victims kept in solitary by Home Office for up to a year – The Guardian

‘The Home Office has pursued a policy of psychological brutality by locking up scores of torture survivors in solitary confinement for indefinite periods, according to fresh testimony from immigration detainees.’

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The Guardian, 15th May 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Judge issues second ruling sharply criticising lack of suitable regulated placement for vulnerable 16-year-old woman with complex needs – Local Government Lawyer

‘A High Court judge has sent a second judgment in less than a month – this time “more in exasperated hope than expectation” – to the Children’s Commissioner for England, the Secretary of State for Education, the Minister for Children and others over the lack of regulated accommodation for vulnerable children.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 24th November 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Facebook’s Instagram ‘failed self-harm responsibilities’ – BBC News

‘Children’s charity the NSPCC has said a drop in Facebook’s removal of harmful content was a “significant failure in corporate responsibility”.’

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BBC News, 19th November 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Controversial immigration detention centre in Lincolnshire to close – The Guardian

Posted July 23rd, 2020 in detention, immigration, news, prisons, reports, self-harm, violence by sally

‘A controversial immigration detention centre where several deaths have occurred in recent years is to close.’

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The Guardian, 23rd July 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Lincolnshire removal centre still too violent, say inspectors – The Guardian

Posted March 10th, 2020 in detention, immigration, news, self-harm, violence by tracey

‘Inspectors have discovered high levels of self-harm, violence and use of force at an immigration detention centre in Lincolnshire where one detainee had been held for more than two years.’

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The Guardian, 10th March 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Number of self-harm incidents in prisons reaches record high – The Guardian

Posted February 4th, 2020 in news, prisons, self-harm, statistics by sally

‘Levels of self-harm in prisons have hit a new high, with more than 60,000 incidents in a year, official figures show.’

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The Guardian, 30th January 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Court of Appeal gives guidance on Secure Accommodation Orders – Transparency Project

‘The local authority was applying for a secure accommodation order in respect of B (aged 15). B and her parents opposed this, mainly because the proposed placement was some distance away.’

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Transparency Project, 29th November 2019

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

Duty of care: inadequate safety nets? – No. 5 Chambers

Posted August 29th, 2019 in detention, duty of care, hospital orders, human rights, news, self-harm, suicide by sally

‘It was recently confirmed in Fernandes de Oliveira v Portugal [2019] ECHR 106 (no.78103/14, 31 January 2019) that a state’s positive obligation under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) applies not only to compulsorily detained patients, but also to those in hospital. However, there was a disappointing caveat. The European Court on Human Rights (ECtHR) concluded that “a stricter standard of scrutiny” might be applied to patients detained “involuntarily” following judicial order (para.124). Indeed, no Article 2 violation was found. In a partly dissenting Minority Opinion (MO), Portugal’s Judge Pinto De Albuquerque and Judge Harutyunyan describe the decision scathingly as “the result of a creative exercise of judicial adjudication for an imagined country” (MO, para.16). This article analyses the case law the ECtHR failed to apply, contends that the decision is plainly wrong, and argues that no differentiation between voluntary and involuntary patients can be justified.’

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No. 5 Chambers, 6th August 2019

Source: www.no5.com

More than 18,000 prisoners ‘cooped up’ in overcrowded cells, figures show – The Independent

Posted August 2nd, 2019 in news, prisons, self-harm, violence by tracey

‘More than 18,000 prisoners are living in cells designed for fewer people as overcrowding fuels violence in jails, a charity has warned. An analysis of government figures by the Howard League for Penal Reform shows three in five men’s prisons are holding more people than they are certified to look after.’

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The Independent, 1st August 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk