What current Commonwealth and State/Territory legislation relate to the issues within Frank Albert's Case.

Mr Frank Albert (Mr Albert) was 46-years of age when he died at Derby Regional Hospital (DRH) from atherosclerotic heart disease on 8 January 2021. At the time of his death, Mr Albert was a sentenced prisoner at West Kimberley Regional Prison (WKRP), having been initially received at the Broome Regional Prison on 17 October 2019. During a risk assessment conducted during the reception process, Mr Albert mentioned he was on medication for diabetes but otherwise had no serious medical issues.

During his incarceration at WKRP, Mr Albert was regularly seen by nursing staff who encouraged him to take his diabetes medication. However, Mr Albert was adamant he did not wish to do so, saying the medication gave him chest pains. He also refused to undergo a cardiac stress test to check his heart function. Mr Albert said he preferred to manage his diabetes by exercise and diet and was given information about healthy eating.Eventually, after being seen by a physician on 25 September 2020, Mr Albert agreed to start taking his diabetes medication, but his blood sugar levels remained high and he was prescribed additional medication.

One of the issues explored at the inquest was whether Mr Albert's health outcomes may have been improved if he had been seen by and Aboriginal health worker (AHW), who could have explained the need for medication and the stress test in culturally appropriate ways. Despite the obvious potential benefits of a review by an AHW, this was not possible because none are employed at WKRP.

Another issue that was explored at the inquest was the availability of culturally appropriate diet options for Aboriginal prisoners with diabetes. The coroner noted that although culturally appropriate foods are made available to prisoners at WKRP, none of the Department of Justice's polices relating to food appears to specifically deal with appropriate diet options for Aboriginal prisoners with diabetes.

Just after 9.00 am on 8 January 2021, prison officers were alerted to the fact that Mr Albert was in his cell clutching his chest, apparently having a heart attack. Nurses attended and Mr Albert was given aspirin and glyceryl trinitrate spray, before being taken to DRH by ambulance. As Mr Albert was being prepared for transfer to Perth for further management, his condition suddenly deteriorated. At about 12.00 pm he went into cardiac arrest, and despite resuscitation efforts, he could not be revived.

Whilst he was at DRH, Mr Albert told clinical staff he had "smoked a pill" the night before. This turned out to be a portion of a quetiapine tablet, which Mr Albert was not prescribed. He had obtained the quetiapine from another prisoner who had secreted the medication after being given it by a nurse. Evidence from several prisoners at WKRP suggests that the practice of secreting medication is widespread.

Although Mr Albert had significant heart disease and quetiapine can place a person at risk of developing a fatal arrythmia, there was no evidence that Mr Albert's death was due to quetiapine toxicity. Instead, his cardiac arrest appeared to be related to insufficient blood flow to his heart cause by his pre-existing heart disease.

The Coroner concluded that although Mr Albert's supervision, treatment and care was of an appropriate standard, the fact that he was able to access a potentially dangerous medication that was not prescribed to him, was a serious breach of security at WKRP. The coroner made five recommendations aimed at improving the health and safety of prisoners at WKRP.