Despite being treated in a separate room on the sixth floor Serco, the private security company responsible for detaining him, did not simply post guards outside his door. Serco decided that it would be better to restrain him at all times, 24 hours a day. This was done by handcuffing him to a security guard, day and night, and through the use of a 2.5-metre "closeting chain". A second security officer was also present at all times. FGP’s extremely vulnerable mental state and the intense physical pain he was in made no difference to Serco’s approach. Security at all costs.
This meant that FGP couldn’t use the toilet, shower or undress without an officer being present. He was afforded no privacy for any of his medical examinations and treatments. He was even made to sleep chained to a security officer while his guards chatted to each other.
Having come into hospital depressed it’s not surprising that this unremitting lack of privacy, and the humiliation and degradation that went with it, seriously worsened his depression.
This month, a High Court judge ruled that restraining our client in this way had violated his Article 3 rights not to be subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment. The judge was also critical of the Secretary of State’s policy on the use of restraint during medical treatment and expressed concern that handcuffing in such circumstances was “over-zealous”. Pretty strong stuff.
Private security companies like Serco, G4S and Reliance receive huge amounts of public money and the public has a right to expect that they will perform their difficult jobs safely – and with humanity and a little common sense.
