Ambulances called to Oakwood Prison 358 times in year
Ambulances were called to Oakwood Prison almost once a day last year, it has been claimed – more than twice as many as any other jail.
Staff at the prison, in Featherstone, called for an ambulance 358 times in 12 months.
Information obtained from West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust showed staff at Oakwood requested ambulances at a rate of almost one a day – more than double that of HMP Wymott in Lancashire which made the second highest number of calls in the country.
HMP Wymott in Leyland called ambulances 148 times and has 1,178 prisoners.
But category C Oakwood is the biggest prison in the country and has 400 more prisoners than HMP Wymott.
Bosses at G4S, which runs Oakwood, said the figures did not accurately represent the full picture.
A spokesman said: "Because healthcare facilities differ at prisons, the figures do not give an accurate representation of the position.
"We follow national processes which are in place for staff so that they can respond to emergency situations in a timely and appropriate fashion."
Oakwood has been hit by a series of high-profile problems in the past few months, the most recent being disorder which broke out on January 6.
It followed two rooftop protests and a damning report which said drugs were more readily available at the jail than soap.
It is claimed Oakwood has facilities on site to provide 24-hour healthcare for prisoners but they have not been used since the superjail opened in April 2012.
A report by the prison's Independent Monitoring Board last year said the top floor of the prison's healthcare unit was mothballed because of Oakwood's change of status from a category B to category C prison.
Oakwood has the second highest ratio of ambulance call-outs to prisoners. Blantyre House in Kent had the highest rate but houses 122 prisoners.
A spokesman for the prison service said: "We do not compromise the safety of prisoners, and national processes have been established for staff to respond to emergency situations in a timely and appropriate fashion."
In February last year, inmate Edward Ham, aged 52, was declared dead in his cell at Oakwood.
The Prison Ombudsman raised concerns over his death and said staff could not access a defibrillator as it was locked away.
