Gabriel
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Gabriel was born in Brazil and had been visited by Antonio in prison for many months. He regularly expressed worries about his safety if he were returned to Brazil and also volunteered information about his criminal convictions which were related to the supply of illegal drugs. Gabriel had known for a long time that at the end of his sentence the Home Office planned to deport him. But he had not known if there was anything he could do about this as his legal representative at that time only experience of the criminal justice system.
As time progressed, Gabriel said he was finding it hard to sleep, didn’t feel hungry and was having regular thoughts about hurting himself. Antonio explained to Gabriel that he was concerned about him and that he would like to discuss this with his group co-ordinator for advice, reminding him of their earlier conversations and that he would only share confidential information without Gabriel’s agreement if he was worried about harm to himself or others. Gabriel agreed and Antonino spoke to his group co-ordinator and they spoke to Gabriel to explain that they were worried about whether he was safe in detention and so were going to write to the healthcare department to set out their worries. Antonio reminded Gabriel that this was something they had spoken about earlier in their visits and explained that he would not be sharing any other information without Gabriel’s agreement. He also talked to Gabriel about other sources of support, and the local group increased their contact with him.
As Gabriel was in prison, Antonio knew he could not request a Rule 35 appointment from the GP practicing there. Instead, he was able to contact local solicitors that provided legal aid advice (referring to a list of legal aid providers provided by the prison and ) explaining that Gabriel was held under immigration powers and so needed legal advice about this rather than prison for criminal issues. Antonio was able to find a legal representative who could gather evidence about the impact of detention on him and so work to secure his release, as well as to complete other legal work to resolve his immigration position.
