A NSW coroner who investigated the death in custody of a member of the Stolen Generations has criticised plans to delay health screenings for Indigenous inmates, saying it could result in problems being missed.<\/p>\n
Gregory Merriman, a 58-year-old Yuin man and direct descendant of revered Yuin leader Umbarra, died at Silverwater\u2019s Metropolitan Reception and Remand Centre (MRRC) in Sydney\u2019s western suburbs in December 2022.<\/p>\n
In findings handed down on Friday, the NSW deputy state coroner, Harriet Grahame, said Merriman was found unresponsive in his cell 30 minutes after being exposed to CS spray (tear gas) sprayed by prison officers attempting to contain a fight in a common area of the prison. Merriman was not involved in the fight and appeared on CCTV footage to have made \u201cverbal attempts to calm others,\u201d the coroner said.<\/p>\n
When a nurse checked on Merriman in his cell half an hour later, as part of a welfare check being conducted on all prisoners exposed to the CS spray, she found him lying unresponsive on the floor.<\/p>\n
An autopsy revealed he had suffered an acute myocardial infarction caused by ischaemic heart disease.<\/p>\n
In her 60-page findings, Grahame said Merriman\u2019s heart disease was asymptomatic but that opportunities to improve his care \u2013 such as starting him on statins to control his slightly raised cholesterol \u2013 had been missed.<\/p>\n
She raised concerns that changes to the preventative health screenings policy made since his death may mean more cases could slip through the cracks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe gap [between health outcomes for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians] has not closed,\u201d she said. \u201cIn this context, the importance of health screening and culturally safe care for all First Nations inmates cannot be overstated\u201d.<\/p>\n
At the time of Merriman\u2019s death, all Aboriginal inmates aged 45 and over were to receive a chronic disease screening within 30 days of their initial health screening in the prison, which is called a reception screening assessment (RSA). Merriman had not received a chronic disease screening, which Grahame said \u201cwas not consistent with policy\u201d.<\/p>\n
Sign up: AU Breaking News email<\/a><\/p>\n Since then, she said, the policy has been revised to require a chronic health screening \u2013 now called a chronic health assessment \u2013 for all patients who have an identified chronic condition. All Aboriginal prisoners without an identified chronic health condition, and non-Aboriginal people over the age of 55, are to be given a preventative health screening (PHS) within 12 months of their RSA.<\/p>\n Grahame said she was \u201cvery troubled by the new time frame\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe provision of adequate health screening is one of the very few possible positive outcomes for those who are incarcerated,\u201d she said. \u201cMany Aboriginal inmates serve short sentences. If PHS is set to occur towards the end of the 12 month window, many inmates will be released before it takes place. I am concerned the new policy constitutes a decrease in the level of service rather than a clear improvement.\u201d<\/p>\n However, Grahame declined to make any recommendations directed at Justice Health<\/a>, instead recommending that the commissioner of custodial services update its policies around the use of CS spray to improve the first aid response for prisoners exposed to the gas.<\/p>\n She also addressed Merriman\u2019s family, saying the over-incarceration of First Nations people was the root cause of persistently high deaths in custody.<\/p>\n \u201cI accept that this issue is grounded in the ongoing effects of colonisation,\u201d she said. \u201cUntil the broad causes of over-representation are properly addressed, the disproportionate number of First Nations deaths in custody will not reduce.\u201d<\/p>\n