‘Alarming’ drug access, breached protocols, and a system in crisis

THE DEATH of a young prisoner at HMP Parc has laid bare a catalogue of failings inside Wales’ largest private jail, with damning reports from the prisons watchdog and inspectors exposing shocking levels of drug availability, neglected mental health needs, and breached safety procedures.

Lewis Rhys Thomas Petryszyn, 25, from Pontardawe, was found dead in his cell on the afternoon of April 15, 2022. His death, confirmed by a coroner last month to be the result of inhaling a “bad batch” of the synthetic drug spice, followed what the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has called a series of missed opportunities and breaches of protocol by staff at the troubled Bridgend facility, which is operated by security giant G4S.

An inquest at Pontypridd Coroner’s Court concluded that Mr Petryszyn died from drug inhalation after ingesting spice, an illegal psychoactive substance known to cause hallucinations, erratic behaviour, and in some cases, death.

A dangerous pattern

Mr Petryszyn was jailed in 2021 for trafficking Class A drugs and intentionally wounding a man outside Swansea’s Fiction nightclub. He was moved to HMP Parc shortly after sentencing.

Inside the jail, staff soon suspected he was involved in distributing psychoactive substances (PS). In April 2022, officers found a “debt list” in his cell and intelligence suggesting he was bullying and assaulting vulnerable prisoners over drug-related debts. However, despite this, prison staff failed to properly apply the Challenge Support Intervention Plan (CSIP) – a national protocol designed to manage violent or high-risk prisoners.

On April 13, just two days before his death, Mr Petryszyn was moved to a different unit due to concerns he posed a threat to others, yet again, no formal CSIP plan was created.

Breach of protocol – a lost chance to save him?

At 1:40pm on April 15, a prison officer delivered disciplinary hearing paperwork to Mr Petryszyn’s cell. Instead of following local policy and handing it to him in person, the officer simply slid the document under the door. He looked through the observation panel and assumed both Mr Petryszyn and his cellmate were asleep.

Forty-five minutes later, a different officer arrived to deliver a prison shop order and found Mr Petryszyn slumped on the floor, unresponsive, while his cellmate sat on the bed “staring into space”.

A post-mortem later confirmed the presence of two psychoactive substances—ADB-BUTINACA and MDMB-4en-PINACA—as well as olanzapine, a powerful antipsychotic that he had not been prescribed, and mirtazapine, one of two antidepressants he had been given inappropriately.

The ombudsman said the officer’s failure to check on him directly may have robbed staff of a chance to save his life, writing: “This meant that staff missed a possible opportunity to provide emergency medical care to Mr Petryszyn sooner.”

Drug strategy outdated, inspections damning

The report also found that Parc’s drug strategy was out of date, despite widespread evidence that prisoners were able to easily obtain both illicit substances and diverted prescription medication.

One day before his death, staff smelled spice coming from Mr Petryszyn’s new cell—eight days after the last known batch was confiscated. This, the ombudsman said, was clear evidence that the flow of drugs in the prison was virtually unchecked.

A separate unannounced inspection of HMP Parc earlier this year found drugs were discovered on over 900 occasions in 2024 alone, and revealed that cell windows could be opened from the inside, enabling prisoners to receive drugs via drones.

Seventeen inmates died at HMP Parc in 2024. According to G4S, at least five deaths were drug-related. Inspectors warned of “a spate of tragic deaths”, linking the failures directly to G4S being awarded a fresh 10-year contract to run the prison, despite a significant decline in safety standards since 2022.

Mental health failings

Mr Petryszyn, who disclosed childhood trauma and PTSD symptoms to a prison GP in October 2021, was prescribed fluoxetine, later paired with mirtazapine. The ombudsman criticised this combination, noting that only a specialist doctor should have prescribed two antidepressants of that class concurrently.

Worse still, when Mr Petryszyn was seen by mental health staff again in February 2022, they failed to consider the PTSD diagnosis noted earlier. This failure, alongside inappropriate prescribing by a non-clinical pharmacist, highlighted serious gaps in Parc’s mental health provision.

Official response

In a formal action plan, HMP Parc has now accepted all recommendations made by the ombudsman. G4S claims it has updated its drug reduction strategy, issued new training for staff on medication supervision and CSIP procedures, and reinforced policies on in-person delivery of official documents.

But critics say these reforms come too late. Twelve inmates died at Parc in the two years leading up to Mr Petryszyn’s death—with further deaths since—and the pattern of staff misconduct, drug access, and medical negligence appears to continue.

A system under pressure

Acting Prisons and Probation Ombudsman Kimberley Bingham said: “While we are satisfied that prison staff submitted intelligence reports and acted on them by conducting searches and drug tests, we remain seriously concerned about the availability of psychoactive substances at Parc.”

She added that both prescribed and illicit drugs must be tackled, and that failure to deliver paperwork correctly may have cost Mr Petryszyn his life.

With the coroner’s conclusion now delivered and yet another critical inspection on the record, the question remains: how many more lives will be lost before systemic change is delivered at HMP Parc?