We all are well acquainted with an Bhialann on campus. Some of us see the man who makes coffee there more than we see our own fathers. While their perfect hash browns may leave you thinking that the company behind an Bhialann is one of the reasons life is worth living, the truth may disabuse you of such a notion.
In order to get the contract for the running of catering services on campus companies have to compete in a tendering process. The successful company will win a three year contract, which can be extended to seven years. Currently, the company who runs an Bhialann is called Sodexo. Sodexo is a French company, founded in 1966, serving schools, hospitals, and restaurants. However, since 1993, Sodexo has also been serving prisons, with Sodexo Justice Services founded to do just that. In the UK, however, there are six prisons managed entirely by Sodexo. And these prisons have not been run as well as they should have.
One such Sodexo operated prison is HMP Bronzefield, the largest female prison in Europe. In 2019, an 18 year old woman, Rianna Cleary, in this prison, gave birth on her own, with no medical attention, despite asking for a nurse. Her baby, Aisha, died that day. The inquest into this heard that Rianna Cleary had to cut the umbilical cord with her teeth. While the coroner couldn’t determine whether or not Aisha was stillborn or breathing when delivered, he did say that in the latter case the baby would have died within hours anyway. In a comment given to SIN, a HMP Bronzefield spokesperson said “In the four years that have passed, our priority has been to implement effective and positive changes in the prison. We will now review these in light of the Coroner’s conclusions, as we continue to improve support for pregnant women in our care.”
In the same prison, Natasha Chin, aged 39, died within 36 hours of entering the prison. She had vomited continuously for nine hours, but yet received no medical attention. Moreover, she was not given her prescribed medication. Despite requests from a prison officer, healthcare staff didn’t go to her cell to monitor her condition. Further, the bell Natasha Chin had to call for prison staff was faulty, so even though she was ringing her bell, looking for help, no help came.
An inquest found that her death was “contributed to by neglect.” Expert witnesses in this inquest stated that had she been transferred to hospital, it is likely she would have survived. In this instance a spokesperson said “We have made many improvements to our procedures at the prison to ensure the safety and wellbeing of those in our care, but we recognise we must continue to make our systems more robust and to this end we appointed a new head of healthcare at the prison last year.”
Again in the same prison, during an inspection from the Chief Inspector of Prisons, Noel Hardwick, in 2013, it was discovered that a woman had been kept in a “squalid” cell in the segregation unit for five years. Mr Hardwick said these conditions amounted to “cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment – and we use these words advisedly”. A statement from Sodexo stated “Whilst this incident happened more than ten years ago, we have since implemented measures to prevent any recurrence.”, but that fails to answer for how on earth the incident ever arose in the first place.
It’s not just in HMP Bronzefield where Sodexo’s management has amounted to cruelty. In HMP Forest Bank, the issues are varied and numerous, including an inmate who spent 6 months in hospital after being set on fire in his cell. Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, staff in this prison noted being attacked, having excrement thrown at them, constant abuse, terrible pay, terrible sick pay, being overworked, and not being supported by managers.
Despite this, Sodexo asserts that they are committed to supporting staff. In a comment given to SIN, a spokesperson for the prison said “We can confirm that there are no current staffing concerns at HMP Forest Bank.” However, such assertions have been made by Sodexo in the past, including at the time of the time of the aforementioned Manchester Evening News article being published. Given this, one could be forgiven for questioning the validity of such comments.
This prison also has a massive drug problem, with spice being rife. One person in this prison who took spice was twenty year old Jordan Higham. A photo of him in intensive care was then shared with others in the prison, in an attempt to scare them off spice. The prison later shared a harm reduction leaflet amongst inmates, to advise on how to take drugs more safely. A spokesperson stated “staff work tirelessly to prevent the introduction of illicit items, such as drugs, within the prison. However, the reality is drugs are an issue in all prisons.” Further, an investigation was launched due to the leaking of a video, sparked by usage of spice, in which naked inmates were pretending to be dogs.
The connection between poor treatment of staff, and the prevalence of drugs in the prison is rather strong. Corruption among prison officers is often simply a means to top up low wages. As a result, there are many reported instances of prison officers smuggling in drugs, mobile phones, DVDs, and more.
In HMP Peterborough, the problems in the Sodexo managed prison are also varied. In 2017, 45 year old Annabella Landsberg tragically died. The subsequent inquest found that serious failures in the prison contributed to her death. While Annabella Landsberg, or Bella as she was known to her family, was transferred to hospital three days before her untimely death, this can’t detract from the failures preceding her admission to hospital. On the 3 September 2017, she was found unresponsive and brought to Peterborough City Hospital, however she had been seriously unwell from 7:00 the evening prior.
After being restrained by prison officers and being seen to have been lying on the floor, prison staff considered her to have been faking illness. So convinced were staff that she was faking an illness that a nurse who assessed her after she wet herself, threw a cup of water over Annabella. When she eventually arrived at the hospital, she was suffering multiple organ failure and was severely dehydrated.
Her medical cause of death, as determined by the inquest, was hyperosmolar hyperglycaemic syndrome and rhabdomyolysis arising from Type 2 Diabetes. However, the jury recognised probable contributory failures to her death, such as understaffing, failure of staff to recognise to provide adequate welfare checks, inadequate checks of medical history, and the absence of a diabetic pathway or a diabetic nurse.
During the inquest it was revealed that the issue of no diabetic pathway or diabetic nurse in the prison had been raised repeatedly, but yet Sodexo failed to remedy this issue. Further, expert evidence given to the inquest stated that if Annabella had been transferred to hospital the evening of the 2 September, it is likely she would have survived. Speaking to SIN, a spokesperson from HMP Peterborough stated that they have “undertaken a thorough review of the delivery of healthcare services at HMP Peterborough”, which has “led to many changes and improvements being made.”
HMP Peterborough also was the setting of illegal strip searches. While Sodexo has admitted that these illegal searches were resultant of their failure to adequately train staff, this admission doesn’t undo the humiliation faced by prisoners who had, as recognised by Justice Julian Knowles, experienced sexual, physical or psychological abuse in the past, “giving rise to particular concerns about their vulnerability”. One of the prisoners subjected to the illegal search was menstruating at the time, and another was transitioning from female to male.
Sodexo have stated that “Strip searching of prisoners on first reception is now better supervised to ensure it only takes place where reasonable suspicion or concerns are raised. The deputy director is responsible for monitoring the use of force to ensure it is justified and proportionate.”
It is likely fair to say most University of Galway students don’t know about the litany of human rights abuses this company, at the entre of our campus, is responsible for. Nor is it the responsibility of the students to know this. However, University management should be aware, and should be taking into consideration the ethical failings of Sodexo when making decisions regarding the tendering process for an Bhialann.
SIN reached out to the University’s commercial services but has received no response at the time of publishing.
This tendering process for catering services on campus also applies to Friars Restaurant,
DERI Café, ZINC Café, and Tog Sos Café.
Anyone affected by the contents of this article are encouraged to contact the Samaritans on 116 123, or visit their website.
Seán is a final year BA Government student. When not preoccupied wreaking havoc and/or drinking pints, Seán can often be found making the case for various causes through writing, debating, protesting, angrily gesticulating, etc.