Bao

James had been visiting Bao, a taciturn 64-year-old Vietnamese man in an IRC for some months. At each meeting it had been difficult to generate a two-way conversation with him and Bao made limited eye contact. He also kept asking the same questions about getting out of prison and did not seem to be able to answer when James asked factual questions such as whether he had a lawyer, friends in the UK or how he spent his time in the IRC. He generally would appear quite unkempt and over time seemed to attend meetings with a guard who had to remind him where to meet James. He seemed to be becoming louder when he did speak and more tearful at these meetings. James discussed his worries about Bao with his group co-ordinator and they agreed he would increase the number of visits and write a short summary after each meeting.

Surprisingly, when James went to the IRC for a planned visit with Bao, he was not there. A guard said that Bao had been placed “in the seg” which the guard explained was also called the care and separate unit because he had been shouting at others when in the corridor. James contacted his group co-ordinator and they wrote to the IMB and contacted the vicar working at the IRC. The IMB said they were aware of the situation and had expressed concern to the centre manager. The vicar had a longer call with James and said he had recently visited Bao who seemed really upset and the room was barely furnished.

James spoke to AVID and Medical Justice for further advice and made a note of his calls explaining how he had found Bao and the worries of the vicar who had recently seen him. Medical Justice arranged for an urgent medico-legal assessment with a GP who completed a cognitive assessment of Bao, with an interpreter. This indicated Bao had early onset dementia and lacked capacity to instruct a legal representative. This was enough evidence for a specialist legal firm to become involved who were able to secure Bao’s release from detention and access to supported care in the community.