NHS ‘withdrew nurses from Spice-infested prison over fears they could be exposed to dangerous zombie-drug fumes’
THE NHS is said to have stopped nurses from working at a Spice-infested prison over fears they could be exposed to toxic fumes from the zombie-drug.
Staff were withdrawn from the County Durham prison HMP Holme House, where inmates smoking spliffs caused 376 medical emergencies in the last year.
Lisa Taylor, head of offender health at the local NHS trust told they previously "had some difficulties with people affected by Spice", in one particular prison wing.
One prison officer recalled feeling a burning sensation in his head, which felt like it was covered in nits, after allegedly being exposed to the drug last summer.
Ms Taylor added: "I'm not disputing that the safety of the prisoners is important, but my priority is to look after our staff.
"If we feel there is something going on in that environment we will remove our staff for a period of time."
Organic chemist John Huffmann accidentally created the drug in 2006 when searching for a new way of developing anti-inflammatory medication.
Two years later the substance began surfacing on websites, usually advertised as a form of incense or plant fertiliser.
Lisa insists she will not bring her staff back until the prison governor sorts the ongoing issue.
David Brown, chief operating officer of the Tees, Esk & Wear Valley NHS Trust told the newspaper: "On one occasion it became necessary to restrict the duties of our staff by withdrawing from a particular wing at HMP Holme House for a short period whilst the prison managed the situation.
"We resumed our regular services as soon as it became safe to do so."
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A Prison Service spokesman said: "More staff, new body scanners, extra sniffer dogs and a dedicated drug search team have been introduced at Holme House, which has already seen a drop in the level of drugs."
This comes weeks after The Sun revealed liquid Spice vapes were being sold on social media.
Dealers brazenly advertise on social media pages and typically under names such as “canna vapes” – meaning cannabis - or “THC oils”.
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