Kate Allen, a 36-year-old woman released from HMP Low Newton in Durham, died 11 days later from sepsis and cardiogenic shock after being discharged from hospital into the community without accommodation, according to a report by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO).
Ms Allen was serving a sentence at the prison in November last year when she became unwell. She was admitted to hospital and remained there until her release date. She was then discharged from hospital into the community without any accommodation and was hospitalised again in York a few days later.
She died on December 8 from sepsis and cardiogenic shock, a condition in which the heart suddenly cannot pump enough blood to meet the body's needs, caused by pneumonia and a pulmonary embolism. Chronic intravenous drug use was listed as contributing to but not causing the death.
Missed opportunity for housing
The PPO report found that, because Ms Allen was hospitalised at the time of her release, housing was not sought for her, and she returned to the community without accommodation. The report said more could have been done and opportunities were missed to find Ms Allen accommodation, noting that due to her ill health and drug misuse, she was "particularly vulnerable and homelessness would likely have had a significant impact on her".
Ms Allen's whereabouts for a period of four days between November 27 and December 1 were not known until she was taken to hospital in York. The report quoted Ms Allen's community offender manager (COM), who said she was unable to complete a CAS3 housing application prior to release due to Ms Allen's hospital admission.
The COM said the admission prevented her from speaking to Ms Allen to ask for consent to complete the accommodation application. The report noted that while the COM made efforts to support Ms Allen after release, there was a missed opportunity to support her accommodation needs before release.
Recommendations and response
The report highlighted that Ms Allen remained under escort by prison staff during her hospital admission between November 18 and 27, providing ample opportunity for the COM and prison offender manager (POM) to work together to plan for her release. This could have included asking prison staff to gain Ms Allen's consent to complete the CAS3 referral.
The PPO recommended that the Regional Probation Director for Yorkshire and the Humber ensure robust pathways for completing administrative requirements for release accommodation referrals when a prisoner is a hospital inpatient.
A Government spokesman said: "Our thoughts remain with Kate Allen's loved ones. We've fully accepted the Ombudsman's recommendations and we're pulling every possible lever to tackle prison leaver homelessness, backed by record investment in probation services." The spokesman added that the Prime Minister is making rough sleeping a national priority, with £874m invested to help people off the streets and into long-term support.
