A prisoner who was found dead in his cell at a North East jail had been drinking homemade 'hooch' before he died, an investigation has found.
Raymond Boyle, 30, was transferred to HMP Northumberland in May 2017 after failing to comply with his licence conditions and died later that month on May 19.
A new report into his death by the Prison & Probation Ombudsman (PPO) said that the day before he died, Mr Boyle told a nurse that he had been drinking illicitly brewed alcohol.
Go here for more Northumberland news and updates from Northumberland Live
The report also said a low level of buprenorphine, an opioid drug that Mr Boyle had not been prescribed, was also found in his system after his death.
A post-mortem into his death was unable to establish the cause of Mr Boyle's death, although the pathologist considered that it was likely that illicit drugs had played a part.
In the report, the investigator said they were "concerned about the ready availability of illicit drugs at the prison" and said "more needs to be done to reduce supply and demand".
Concerns were also raised that the emergency response was not carried out in line with national policy although this had no effect on the outcome for Mr Boyle.
The report said Mr Boyle was found outside his houseblock without permission on May 18 and was under the influence of an unknown substance.
Mr Boyle refused to let a nurse examine him but told her that he had been drinking 'hooch' (illicitly brewed alcohol).
The nurse said although Mr Boyle was a little unsteady on his feet, he was not suffering any serious ill effects and he was left to recover in his cell.
The following day, Mr Boyle was found unresponsive in his cell but staff did not "immediately call an emergency code".
Outlining some concerns, the report said: "The officers who found Mr Boyle unresponsive did not immediately call an emergency code or enter the cell to check for signs of life.
"The Night Orderly Officer told them to wait for her to arrive before they entered the cell. This led to a delay before an ambulance was called.
"Although this did not affect the outcome for Mr Boyle, as he had been dead for some time, it could make a critical difference in future cases.
"Mr Boyle was not prescribed buprenorphine and must, therefore, have obtained illicitly in prison.
"We are concerned about the easy availability of drugs at Northumberland. Although the prison has a substance misuse strategy, more needs to be done to reduce supply and demand."
A number of recommendations were made including ensuring staff know when to enter a cell and to ensure staff promptly use an emergency code so there are no delays in calling an ambulance.
The report also said the Director should ensure that the key drug issues at Northumberland are identified and that the prison’s local drugs strategy is revised to ensure that the key issues are being addressed.
An HMP Northumberland spokesperson said: "Any death in our custody is always regrettable, and our thoughts remain with Mr Boyle’s family.
"We cooperated fully with the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman’s review in 2021, accepted the recommendations made and implemented an action plan which we have since completed."
