SCOTLAND: THE DEVASTATING IMPACTS OF SPICE EXPOSURE

Inhaling psychoactive substances may not appear to be career- or even life- threatening, but in some instances the effects can be dangerous. A solution is needed.

In Scotland, we are chasing a separation of how prison officers are viewed and rewarded for the environment in which we do our role. Currently, the banding within the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) has prison officers paid the same level as our non-operational colleagues, something, as a union, we do not believe is correct because of the differences in the environment in which we carry out our respective roles.

There are many reasons why the environment of a prison officer is a far more dangerous place to work than others. However, for the purpose of this article, I'll focus on the exposure to psychoactive substances and how this has had a massive (and overtly negative) effect on the life of a colleague and POA member.

This article has been published with the officer's approval, in the hope that it shows others they are not alone, and to highlight the need to fight for change with a Civil Service Injury Benefit Policy that will allow for this type of exposure to be classed as an assault at work, not merely as an injury. Inhaling psychoactive substances may not appear to be career- or even life- threatening, but in some instances the effects can be dangerous. A solution is needed. John Cairney SNC Chair A motion was passed at the POA annual conference on this matter, and, hopefully, we will achieve a change in policy.

While the following is a somewhat lengthy article, it’s important to fully understand just how devastating this was for the officer and the ways it has impacted his health and family life.

John Cairney
SNC Chair

 

A TRUE STORY

On 30th April, 2019, I began my duties as residential prison officer at 07:30hrs. At approximately 19:00, I was aware of a number of prisoners acting in an unusual manner. On approaching the group I was aware of an odour in the vicinity where they appeared to be under the influence of a psychoactive substance. These prisoners were openly blowing vapour into the air with total disregard for the safety of either officers or other prisoners, knowing the effects these drugs can have on those in close proximity. I locked one prisoner in his cell will accompanying staff locked the other in his respective cell. The prisoner I escorted was incoherent, slurring his speech and unsteady on his feet. He was clearly under the influence and started to show aggressive behaviours. He also continued to use his vape, blowing vapour at officers.

IMMEDIATE EFFECTS

Shortly after, I was summoned to the other end of the section where a prisoner called for assistance. On approach, there was another horrendous toxic odour coming from the cell where the prisoner was lying in a state of unconsciousness. Because of the smell emanating from the cell, I locked him inside and contacted nursing staff. I then struggle to recollect the events, as I began to feel significantly unwell and had an overpowering sensation that I was overheating. I was aware my senses were becoming unstable, which was observed by colleagues. During this period, I remember having feelings of both anxiety and aggression while feeling that my body was on fire. After this, I have no clear memory of what happened until I was in hospital receiving medical treatment. In line with the SPS policy statement, these effects were not caused by my actions, but by those of the irresponsible prisoner, perpetrated either with intent to cause harm to me or themselves, through openly smoking psychoactive substances and blowing the toxic vapour towards others.

While in hospital, I was overcome with an wide range of emotions: anger, frustration, and embarrassment. It was at this point I became aggressive, arguing with and trying to fight my family and staff. This aggressive behaviour soon turned to sadness, where I was in floods of tears. Soon after, I became aware of a severe injury to my right hand. This exasperated me, because I couldn't recall how or why the injury to my hand had occurred. This added a degree of panic into my already stressful circumstances, notably with concerned family members. I was deeply concerned that I may have hurt someone due to my apparent injury.

I was tended to in A & E, where it was explained that I was suffering from high blood pressure and was to be sent for an ECG. Medical staff advised increased fluid intake to flush out any toxins I had been exposed to, and to reduce my core body temperature. But I was still agitated about the injury I'd sustained.

During this stage, my wife contacted my First Line Manger (FLM), as I was incoherent and distressed with worry that I had hurt someone and couldn't remember it. I was increasingly aware that I'd no recollection of the events of that evening. I could see I had a significant injury but suffered no pain, despite my knuckles being closer to my wrist. I was also aware that my shirt had been ripped open and bloodstained, presumably from my hand.

I was then made aware of how these injuries had occurred (secondhand) through my wife talking to my FLM. It was explained that I had been punching walls and furniture after being locked in an office. I was then seen by a consultant who checked over the injuries to my right hand. During this examination, I explained I was not experiencing any pain and could not understand the reason for this. The consultant was concerned that I didn't feel pain, especially with the extent of my injury.

It was explained that the only reason would be because of the psychoactive substances to which my body had been exposed. X-rays were taken and it was confirmed I'd sustained a number of fractures in my hand. Blood tests highlighted that I'd been exposed to a pyscho-stimulant drug and rhabdomyolysis had started to take place within my body. If you are unaware of the term, it's the destruction of muscle mass in the body and can potentially be life-threatening. After around eight hours, I was sent home from hospital and into the care of my family. For a period of time, I was left feeling like I was on an emotional rollercoaster. I couldn’t figure out why I was continually breaking down and experiencing feelings of extreme emotion.

IN THE AFTERMATH

After being released from hospital, my wife was concerned for my well-being. During the succeeding hours and days, I suffered from chronic sore heads (something I am not prone to), anxiety, fear and further bouts of uncontrolled emotion. I'd be crying, sobbing with outbursts of anger, because I could not remember what had happened to me.

This whole situation has caused incredible stress, emotional turmoil and intense fear. During my time of having no memory, I had somehow contacted my parents from the prison. They explained that I was incoherent, shouting and suddenly crying, unable to articulate properly. This caused distress to my elderly parents. My wife, who met me on my admission to hospital, was contacted by my father to inform her that something was wrong with me. This caused enormous stress for her as well. When she saw me, she recalls thinking: “It wasn’t you standing in front of me.” She said I was angry, emotional, and loud. I was crying, with bulging red eyes, my hand and shirt covered in blood, just staring, while becoming increasingly frustrated that I couldn’t understand what had happened to me.

On returning to work in August, once my hand had healed, and believing I was capable, I simply tried to block out the night terrors, flashbacks of the incident, and the fact I generally struggled to sleep. Yet I felt constantly on edge, highly irritable and anxious that something bad was going to happen at any time.

During the six-month period when I was back at work, I was acting erratically; constantly ready for the worst scenario to play out, and was prepared do anything to defend myself. Ultimately, I lived in fear that I would not be able to survive, let alone cope, if I was ever exposed to a substance like this again. For a period, I had serious thoughts of harming myself and planned how I could take my own life. It was the internal suffering that affected me most. The fact I couldn’t control it or stop feeling like I was a burden to my family was crushing me. It frustrated me that I still didn't know what had happened to me over that short period on 30th April.

MENTAL HEALTH IMPACT

I hadn’t experienced mental health problems prior to the incident, but that was different now: I felt my life had changed. Flashbacks would cause intense sensation of overheating. I was experiencing absences where I would go into a mental state of reliving the incident to the point of my memory loss, as I continuously tried to change the outcome. This could last for hours. Looking back was mental torture. At work I had become a different officer altogether. I struggled to carry out tasks, fearful I'd be exposed to these drugs again. I became resistant to doing anything I felt would put me in harm's way and couldn't function as a human being. This came to a head in January 2020, where, after a minor incident, I drew my baton in fear for my life. Looking back, I've dealt with far worse incidents over my 18 years of service than this, and hadn't felt the need to draw my baton before now.

At this point, I realised I needed help. I was in a constant state of alert, ready to defend myself and fight for my life. My night terrors were becoming increasingly regular. I would wake up overwhelmed with feelings of heat in my body. I'd then relive the events of that day and torture myself by trying to piece together those missing moments.

TURNING POINT

It took a lot for me to admit, but I was in a bad mental state, so eventually phoned the Employee Assistance Programme. At this point, I'd contemplated doing things that I feel embarrassed for thinking now – that I was prepared to leave my two beautiful children without a father just to relieve my misery. The above is hard to admit, but something I had no control over.

In January 2020, I received 15 sessions of counselling and was in constant dialogue with my GP. I was prescribed medication to help with my situation and, during this period, had my first psychiatrist appointment where I was diagnosed with PTSD. The following years were a struggle as I battled against myself, covering up symptoms, while still retracing the incident. Each time I returned to work from periods of absence, I'd go back into the same wing, where the prisoners involved in the incident would try to goad me. I asked my residential FLM why I was being put through this mental torture and why these prisoners were still in the same area after April's incident. I reported Unfit for Duty, as I knew there was something affecting my mental health and was unable to cope in the workplace.

A DIAGNOSIS

I contacted my GP, who explained I was suffering from anxiety and stress and wanted me medically assessed for PTSD. She prescribed a beta blocker tablet to regulate my heart rate and calm my nerves.

With trauma persisting, I approached a senior manager to raise my concerns for psychoactive substances that were being used within the prison, and how this secondhand exposure was having terrible effects on colleagues within the SPS. I raised the issue in good faith to make my workplace safer, to which I was told if I were to “continue raising these concerns, your days and opportunities in the SPS may dry up". At a time when I needed my employer to support me, I felt it was attempting to bully and silence me.

Over the next seven months, I started to feel better at home, returning to work in August 2020. Counselling helped me address my emotions, but ultimately covered them up. It also masked the bodily sensations I had when I felt fear.

AN ONGOING CYCLE

When back at work, the night terrors, irritability, anxiety and fear resurfaced. The dread of entering a cell was often overwhelming and uncontrollable. Because of the lack of support from my employer, I began a legal challenge against the SPS with regard to its management policy on psychoactive substances. On three separate occasions, senior managers approached me to find out more information of the case. But this only continued to hammer home a feeling that I was not supported in my place of work. The nightmares increased and, with no sleep, found I could not drag myself out of my bed in the morning. A comment I heard from one senior manager was along the lines of: “These officers need to man up and learn how to deal with prisoners taking drugs.” As you can imagine, this made me feel worthless and shameful about my experience.

In August 2020, I returned to work and changed roles to somewhere I had less exposure to residential areas. This helped me on a day-to-day basis, but I still struggled when I had to go back into that setting, especially near cells. Over time, I was increasingly aware that I was still suffering. I would persistently get feelings of overheating where I would pull at my shirt, wake up in the night sweating and crying, and would end up reliving the incident.

THE HELP I NEEDED

My GP refereed me to clinical psychology. I also received six sessions of EMDR that I got privately in May 2022. I felt a benefit but did not deal with the root cause of the problem. On the 24th October 2022, once again the emotions of the incident of the 2019 became intense, specifically while at work where I felt unable to enter a residential hall. I also felt increasing pressure from the SPS, as there had been a date set for the legal challenge I had brought against it. At this point, I had now been assessed by four separate psychiatrists who all attributed my feelings and behaviours to PTSD and anxiety. Since 2020, I have been prescribed medication which has risen and fallen depending on how I am.

From 24th October 2022, I felt I was unable to handle work and the thoughts of the incident from more than three years ago were taking its toll on both my professional and personal life. I would still go into long, mind-numbing absences, where I would rerun the events of that day – sometimes for several hours – and could not perform my daily duties. Just walking into the prison would see a tightness in my chest and shoulders, while sweating. I was unable to ignore the stress of work and the risk of exposure to the spice again. I wanted the events of 2019 behind me, but, the more I did this, the more overpowering the memory became.

PSYCHOLOGICAL HELP

In December 2022, I began an intense psychological treatment of EMDR therapy that lasted nearly seven months. It was to try to help me overcome the never-ending flashbacks and to acknowledge the intrusive thoughts that were continually occurring in my head. I had further psychology and GP meetings in early-December 2023, after my psychology treatment paused. I was advised I may need more work to address unresolved issues pertaining to the incident and a further incident where I was assaulted during a serious indiscipline at the prison at the beginning of 2022. In this latter incident, I was assaulted by a prisoner who headlocked me, jumped on and kicked me, only for a number of other prisoners to join in. I fell to the ground a number of times, where I sustained injuries to my back, neck, legs, and head and returned to work on the 21st March, 2023. Throughout all of this, I have had regular support from my GP, who has helped me significantly.

Eventually, the SPS accepted liability for my injuries and my ongoing mental health problems. Yet, I feel this is where the support ended. At every moment throughout this period of my life I've had to be prepared to fight my corner in order to highlight these severe problems I've encountered, to the point I have contemplated whether to remain on this Earth or not, which is unpleasant to think about now. The mental fatigue I have encountered has been debilitating, not only to me but to my family. The past four years have been a living nightmare, created through an incident that the SPS accepts liability for.

I am applying for a Section 9, where these absences are the result of me being exposed to a substance that has robbed me of a period of my life. I sustained a physical injury but, worse than that, I’m living with a mental health problem that has consumed me and heavily affected every aspect of my own life where I've been forced to take prolonged time off work.

I further feel that the lack of support and compassion shown within the prison service, and its willingness to ostracise officers who've been affected by second-hand exposure, has ultimately added to my problems in relation to this work-related accident.

IN CONCLUSION

This was an indirect assault on me. This, in law, is a term of assault, which is a deliberate act set up to cause harm or fear. If prisoners openly vape or smoke psychoactive substances, blow toxins in close proximity to others, knowing the debilitating effects of these drugs, this is an indirect assault on a person. These incidents can also be seen as an accidental assault, where the actions of someone is not intent to cause actual bodily harm to an individual, but as a result of their behaviours causes harm to another individual.

As you have no doubt gathered, this incident has had a massive impact on the life of our member and, thanks to the bravery of his story, it may help others who have been affected by similar exposure to learn they are not alone and that support does exist.

At the beginning of this article, I mentioned the need to separate officers from non-operational colleagues due to the working environment. No-one can read this powerful statement and argue that some officers are indeed placed in far greater danger than others.

A solution to this ongoing issue must be found. We also need a change to the Civil Service Injury Benefit Policy so that it will support colleagues who have experienced similar incidents, and that they are properly defined to offer better support that may aid a more effective recovery.