NSW coroner ‘very troubled’ by health policy change after Stolen Generations member dies in custody | Indigenous Australians

A NSW coroner investigating the death in custody of a member of the Stolen Generations has criticized plans to delay health screenings for Indigenous prisoners, saying it could lead to problems being overlooked.

Gregory Merriman, a 58-year-old Yuin man and direct descendant of respected Yuin leader Umbarra, died in December 2022 at the Silverwater Metropolitan Reception and Remand Center (MRRC) in Sydney’s western suburbs.

In findings released on Friday, 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 trying to control a fight in a common area of ​​the prison. The coroner said Merriman was not involved in the fight and was seen in CCTV footage “making verbal attempts to calm others”.

Half an hour later, when a nurse checked Merriman in his cell as part of a wellness check for all inmates exposed to CS spray, she found Merriman lying unresponsive on the floor.

An autopsy revealed that he had suffered an acute myocardial infarction caused by ischemic heart disease.

In his 60-page findings, Grahame said Merriman’s heart disease was asymptomatic but that opportunities to improve his care, such as starting statin therapy to control his mildly high cholesterol, were missed.

He expressed concern that changes to the preventive health screenings policy since his death could mean more cases could be missed.

“Space [between health outcomes for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians] “In this context, the importance of health screening and culturally safe care for all First Nations prisoners cannot be overstated.”

At the time of Merriman’s death, all Aboriginal inmates aged 45 and over were required to undergo a chronic disease screening, called a welcome screening assessment (RSA), within 30 days of their initial health screening in prison. Merriman was not screened for chronic disease, which Grahame said was “not consistent with policy.”

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The policy has since been revised to require chronic health screening (now called a chronic health assessment) for all patients with an identified chronic condition, he said. All Aboriginal prisoners and non-Aboriginal people over the age of 55 without an identified chronic health condition will receive a preventive health screening (PHS) within 12 months of their RSA.

Grahame said he was “very uncomfortable with the new time frame”.

“Ensuring adequate health screening is one of the very few positive outcomes possible for those who are incarcerated,” he said. “Many Aboriginal prisoners are serving short sentences. If PHS is to occur towards the end of the 12-month window, many prisoners will be released before this happens. I am concerned that the new policy represents a reduction in the level of service rather than a clear improvement.”

However, Grahame refused to make any recommendations for Justice Health; Instead, he recommended that the custodial services commissioner update its policies on the use of CS spray to improve first aid response to gas-exposed inmates.

He also addressed Merriman’s family, saying over-incarceration of First Nations people is a root cause of persistently high deaths in custody.

“I recognize that this problem is based on the ongoing effects of colonization,” he said. “Until the overall causes of overrepresentation are properly addressed, the disproportionate number of deaths of First Nations in custody will not decrease.”

Graheme also noted an open letter penned by the state coroner in October, which said NSW had recorded its highest ever number of Indigenous deaths in custody, with 12 people dead by 2025.

This comes after a five-year period in which the number of Aboriginal people in custody increased by 18.9%, the number of non-Aboriginal prisoners decreased by 12.5% ​​and the number of Aboriginal people in custody increased by 63%.

“These figures reflect that the overrepresentation of First Nations people in the criminal justice system is a systemic problem, consistent with the sentiments expressed by Greg’s family.”