A prisoner was found dead from a heroin overdose three days after being released from a South London prison.

The individual was reportedly homeless after his release and had shown a history of substance misuse.

Ged Corbett was sentenced to HMP Thameside in April 2023 after failing to comply with the requirement of the sexual offences order. The sentencing occurred a week after he was released from HMP Hull following a previous assault conviction.

The report claimed Mr Corbett was already on a methadone detoxification programme when he arrived at the prison to treat his heroin withdrawal.

The prisoner was then put under the care of the prison’s substance misuse service (SMS) and a care plan was agreed for him that May.

Mr Corbett was given harm minimisation advice while in prison and warned about the dangers of taking other drugs and misusing his prescribed medication.

He was also reportedly told of the risks from sharing needles and overdosing following a period of abstinence.

The prisoner told a nurse later that month that he wished to reduce his methadone use to zero before he was released.

The nurse was said to have advised against this given the dangers of overdose but a plan was made for Mr Corbett to reduce his use after he insisted he wished to come off it.

Mr Corbett told his community offender manager (COM) at this time that he wished to be released to Woolwich where he had family support and job opportunities.

However, the staff member found that the prisoner had outstanding allegations of domestic abuse against him in the area so it was deemed unsuitable for him to return to Woolwich.

The individual was taught how to safely administer naloxone in June 2023 in the event of a drug overdose, with the prisoner requesting to be released with a supply of the drug when he left prison.

Mr Corbett was then reminded about the dangers of drug use before his release by the prison SMS. He also discontinued his methadone detoxification programme at this time.

The COM and their manager agreed that Mr Corbett’s risk level should be increased to high and he would benefit from living in an approved premises after being released, to support him being integrated back into the community.

A referral was sent to a premises in York given Mr Corbett has previously lived there, but the staff were told that there was no space for the individual on the dates requested.

A request was made two days before the prisoner’s release to York Council for temporary accommodation, but the council claimed it required at least a week’s notice to house individuals with sexual offence convictions.

Mr Corbett was released from HMP Thameside on August 16 with a supply of naloxone and training information on how to safely administer it.

The individual was assigned a housing officer at York Council on the day he was released, but he did not attend his initial appointment.

His COM was unable to contact him as he did not have a mobile phone and Mr Corbett was recalled to prison after not making contact within 24 hours of his release.

The report said: “On the morning of August 19, a member of the public found Mr Corbett outside an address in London. Police and paramedics arrived and pronounced Mr Corbett dead at 11.24am.”

The post-mortem report for Mr Corbett concluded he had died of acute respiratory depression and coma due to heroin toxicity. An inquest in January this year also concluded that the individual’s death was drug-related.

The ombudsman noted in their report that Mr Corbett had a history of substance misuse, and found that he had received appropriate treatment for this during his time at HMP Thameside before being transferred to a community SMS upon his release.

The report added that Mr Corbett’s COM had liaised with external support agencies and completed the relevant housing referrals to local authorities and housing agencies due to him being homeless after being released.

A Serco spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We were saddened to learn of the death of Mr Corbett, who we supported during his time at HMP Thameside. Our thoughts are with his family and those who knew him.”