Ellie Cornish comments on case of Wayne Bayley, who died following restraint by prison officers
7 Nov 2024
Hickman & Rose’s Ellie Cornish has commented on the death of Wayne Bayley, whose family she represented at inquest.
Mr Bayley, who had the inherited blood disorder sickle cell disease, died after being restrained by prison officers. In the course of his restraint his physical condition rapidly deteriorated and he reported that he could not breathe. He died ten hours later having received no medical treatment.
A jury at Bow coroner’s court found there had been a gross failure to provide the basic medical attention which, had it been provided, would have saved his life.
Ellie is quoted in The Independent, the London Standard and elsewhere saying Mr Bayley’s treatment was “characterised by a profound lack of professional curiosity, common sense and humanity”.
“Warning signs of what was in fact a medical emergency were disregarded, unnoticed or unidentified”, she said.
“A sickle cell crisis can be entirely treatable but, as the jury found, multiple failures by prison and healthcare meant that, in this instance, it proved fatal.”
