Suspects detained by police denied essential insulin, cancer and epilepsy drugs, damning report claims

Drugs for diabetes, cancer, epilepsy and mental illness are being denied to people held in police cells after they are arrested, according to a shocking new report.

Suspects detained in custody suites are even having emergency care withheld as a “form of punishment”, according to the study shared exclusively with The Independent.

The report has sparked calls for healthcare for those in custody to be brought under the remit of the NHS, amid claims that basic standards are not being met by the private companies that currently provide it.

Deborah Coles, chief executive of the charity Inquest, which represents families whose loved ones have died in custody, said the report is “deeply concerning” and urged ministers to respond before the situation results in “catastrophe”.

“This is about the denial of life-protecting medication,” she said. “There is the ever-present risk of death and harm. It shines a light on the standards of healthcare in police custody suites.

“This report lays bare many of the concerns Inquest has had for decades around the standards of care afforded to detainees in police custody. The reality of this, denying people medication that is life-protecting, does hold the risk of death and serious harm.”

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Source: The Independent, 30 April 2025