More than a dozen people were treated for the effects of a CS gas attack in Tallaght Hospital, Dublin, yesterday. Ainmate from Cloverhill Prison tried to escape from custody by spraying the substance in the faces of two prison officers, six patients and six of their relatives in the accident and emergency unit.
A back-up crew of prison officers was dispatched to the hospital to support three prison officers escorting the man when the attack occurred just after 4 p.m.
The inmate, a Belgian national awaiting trial on drugs offences, was brought to the hospital after complaining of chest pains. A short time after arriving he asked to use the shower. He then produced a canister of CS gas and sprayed it at the prison officers.
While one of the officers was sprayed in the eyes, his two colleagues managed to detain the man. Gardaí were called to the scene. The man remained at the hospital for a number of hours in order that his claims of chest pains could be fully explored.
Prison sources said the CS gas may have been hidden in an area of one of the hospital toilets or may have been passed to the inmate on the premises by a person known to him as part of a well-planned escape bid. Gardaí are investigating and the Irish Prison Service has begun its own inquiry.
The Prison Officers' Association said it had last year raised security concerns surrounding hospital visits. It was calling on the Prison Service to review how the visits are conducted. The victims of the attack were treated for a burning sensation to their faces and for nausea.
The incident comes in the second week of industrial action by prison doctors, who have withdrawn almost all of their services in a dispute over remuneration. The action by the doctors means inmates requiring medical attention, apart from emergency treatment, must be taken to public hospitals.
In a separate incident at Cloverhill Prison, a drug-addicted inmate who was committed yesterday inflicted an injury on himself after becoming distressed over his withdrawal from heroin. The man broke his hand after punching the wall of his cell. He was taken to Tallaght Hospital. The administering of methadone, the heroin replacement drug, has been affected by the doctors' dispute.
