Questions raised after man in coma after suspected drug overdose in Albany prison

The family of a man in a coma in a Western Australian prison after a suspected drug overdose say authorities failed to notify them in time and are questioning the decision to shackle him to his hospital bed.

The 33-year-old man, who the ABC does not identify for data protection reasons, required urgent medical attention while in Albany Regional Prison on Monday.

His family told the ABC that he was serving a prison sentence for burglary.

He was flown to Perth by the Royal Flying Doctor Service and taken to Rockingham Hospital, where he remains in a coma.

His family said he was confined to bed even though he was in a coma.

Mervyn Eades, the man's uncle, said the security measures were “worrying”.

“He is in a coma and cannot move forward,” he said.

“Really emotional” for the family

The man's mother, Leanne Eades, said she received a call from a Casuarina Prison officer the morning after the alleged overdose.

“I was really emotional,” she said.

“I thought my son was in Albany Regional Prison, but he was in the intensive care unit in Rockingham.”

The man's daughter, Iaeshia Dean-Eades, said it was difficult to see her father in a coma.

“Dad calls me and all of us every day,” she said.

Suspected overdose in prison

Mr Eades said the family were able to find out more details after arriving at the hospital.

“Little fragments came out,” he said.

The family said doctors told them he likely suffered an overdose.

“[His] His condition was apparently due to a synthetic substance he took at Albany Regional Prison, Eades said.

“It's disgusting that this illegal stuff still gets into prisons.”

A spokesman for the Western Australia Department of Justice declined to comment, citing the confidentiality of prisoners' personal and medical information.

A spokesman for Corrections Minister Paul Papalia said it would be inappropriate to comment on operational matters.

Calls to notify family immediately

Mr. Eades is also a past chair of the First Nations Death in Custody Watch Committee.

He said he was aware of other cases in which relatives were not informed about emergency medical treatment in a timely manner.

“This really hits us because this happened to us too,” he said.

“I completely disagree with the decision not to call the family immediately.

Mr Eades said he wanted all families to be notified immediately if emergency medical care was required.

“What needs to be done to get the attention of next of kin and family members?” he asked.

“And that’s all families – black, white and brown.

The Commissioner's publicly available policies and procedures documents state that a prisoner's next of kin should be informed of a medical emergency or transfer to hospital.

The documents state that it is at the superintendent's discretion to “immediately notify next of kin” or “wait until the next day if the incident occurs at night.”

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