Kevin Giles

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Independent investigation into
the death of Mr Kevin Giles,
a prisoner at HMP Hollesley Bay,
on 13 January 2024
A report by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman
Third Floor, 10 South Colonnade Email: mail@ppo.gov.uk T l 020 7633 4100
Canary Wharf, London E14 4PU Web: www.ppo.gov.uk
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© Crown copyright, 2025
This report is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0. To view this licence,
visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3
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1. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman aims to make a significant contribution to
safer, fairer custody and community supervision. One of the most important ways in
which we work towards that aim is by carrying out independent investigations into
deaths, due to any cause, of prisoners, young people in detention, residents of
approved premises and detainees in immigration centres.
2. If my office is to best assist His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) in
ensuring the standard of care received by those within service remit is appropriate,
our recommendations should be focused, evidenced and viable. This is especially
the case if there is evidence of systemic failure.
3. On 24 July 2008, Mr Kevin Giles was given a sentence of imprisonment for public
protection for malicious wounding.
4. On 13 January 2024, Mr Giles died from cardiomegaly (an abnormal enlargement of
the heart), caused by hypertensive heart disease, while a prisoner at HMP Hollesley
Bay. Mr Giles was 56 years old. We offer our condolences to his family and friends.
5. The Ombudsman’s office wrote to Mr Giles’ next of kin to explain the investigation
and to ask if they had any matters they wanted us to consider. They had no
questions but asked for a copy of our report.
6. NHS England commissioned an independent clinical reviewer to review Mr Giles
clinical care at Hollesley Bay.
7. As part of our investigation, the previous investigator and clinical reviewer
conducted interviews with prison and healthcare staff.
8. The clinical reviewer concluded that the clinical care Mr Giles received at Hollesley
Bay up until 13 January was of a good standard and was at least equivalent to that
which he could have expected to receive in the community.
9. However, she concluded that the clinical care Mr Giles received on the morning of
13 January when he became unwell was inadequate and was not equivalent to that
which he could have expected to receive in the community. She was concerned that
when Mr Giles complained of feeling unwell when he visited the healthcare unit,
healthcare staff did not complete a full set of physical and clinical observations as
they should have done. We make the following recommendation:
The Head of Healthcare should ensure that all patients who report that they
feel clinically unwell, have a full set of clinical observations undertaken. They
should also ensure that all staff are trained and competent in the use of the
NEWS2 scoring system and that all staff document a NEWS2 score with every
full set of physical observations to give a clear indication of the deteriorating
patient.
The clinical reviewer made three further recommendations which were not related
to Mr Giles’ death but which Hollesley Bay will want to address.
10. The PPO investigator investigated the non-clinical issues relating to Mr Giles’ care.
We did not identify any significant non-clinical learning.
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman 1
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11. The initial report was shared with HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS).
HMPPS did not find any factual inaccuracies.
12. Mr Giles’ family received a copy of the draft report. They did not make any
comments.
13. At an inquest held on 16 December 2024, the Coroner concluded that Mr Giles died
of natural causes.
Adrian Usher
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman February 2025
2 Prisons and Probation Ombudsman
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Third Floor, 10 South Colonnade Email: mail@ppo.gov.uk T l 020 7633 4100
Canary Wharf, London E14 4PU Web: www.ppo.gov.uk
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