Three prisoners were rushed to hospital after overdosing on drugs in a Scottish jail.
One man fell ill at HMP Kilmarnock, which is run by private company Serco on behalf of the Scottish Prison Service, on Wednesday and was rushed by ambulance to the nearby Crosshouse Hospital.
A further two prisoners at the East Ayrshire jail, which is also known as Bowhouse Prison, were left stricken the following day and were also taken to the hospital's Accident and Emergency department.
A Serco spokesperson said: "We can confirm that three prisoners from HMP Kilmarnock have been taken to hospital. We are in close contact with the hospital to monitor their condition.”
Joanne Edwards, Director of Acute Services for NHS Ayrshire and Arran said: "We are aware of a small number of prisoners who have been admitted to University Hospital Crosshouse following suspected drug misuse.
"We are working with the prison healthcare and prison custody staff to investigate them circumstances around this incident. Due to patient confidentiality, it would be inappropriate to comment further."
A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "We were called to HMP Kilmarnock on two separate days. We transported one patient to hospital on May 3 and two patients on May 4."
When asked whether the prisoners had consumed illicit drugs, and whether there would be a investigation into the circumstances of the incident by Serco, the spokesperson refused to comment further.
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