An inmate at the Psychiatric Penitentiary Hospital of Sevilla II started a fire in his cell during the Spanish national team's match. Staff extinguished the flames and the inmate was transferred to a secure cell, where he self-harmed.
Sunday night turned into a nightmare in the acute module of the Psychiatric Penitentiary Hospital of Sevilla II. An inmate, whose identity has not been disclosed, set fire to his room at a time when staffing was reduced due to the coinciding football match of the Spanish national team. The fire generated thick black smoke that forced the emergency protocol to be activated.
According to the union ACAIP-UGT, the incoming and outgoing staff had to intervene together to access the affected department, evacuate the inmate and control the flames using the fire hoses from the facility itself. The situation was described by the union as of "extreme risk" in a facility of high complexity in care and penitentiary management.
Self-harm and tension in the acute module
After being rescued from the burning room, the inmate was transferred to a secure cell equipped with video surveillance. However, instead of calming down, the inmate managed to self-harm using pieces of methacrylate and ripped part of the ceiling's surveillance camera installation. Tension spread throughout the acute module, where shouting, insults and disturbances of order were directed at the staff and the head of services.
The day continued with attention to other inmates affected by the situation and the management of new incidents reported from the facility's switchboard. ACAIP-UGT praised the professionalism of the staff, who managed to contain a situation that, according to the union, tested the operational capacity of the hospital.
A centre in the spotlight after the double murder
This new incident occurs just a week after an inmate allegedly took the lives of his two cellmates in residential module number 3 of the same facility. That event, which is still under investigation, reignited alarms about the difficulty of managing inmates with severe psychiatric disorders and intensified union demands to strengthen human resources and specialized means.
The ACAIP-UGT union has taken advantage of this episode to once again denounce the "serious and chronic lack of staff" that, in their view, forces professionals to face highly complex situations with insufficient resources. The organization is calling for the transfer of the involved inmate due to the recurrence of incidents and the risk posed by his continued presence under current conditions.
Additionally, ACAIP-UGT demands the reactivation of the Siete Aguas Penitentiary Centre project, an infrastructure designed to care for inmates with high-complexity psychiatric profiles with specific means. They also demand an update of the staffing and Job Position Relations of psychiatric penitentiary hospitals, adapting them to the current needs of these centres, where care for individuals with severe mental disorders requires more professionals and specialized training.
The Psychiatric Penitentiary Hospital of Sevilla II, located in the capital of Seville, is one of two such centres in Spain. Its staff has been denouncing for years a precarious situation that, according to the unions, puts both inmates and workers at risk. Neighbours in the area, for their part, continue to follow with concern the incidents occurring inside these facilities, although the centre's management assures that external security has not been compromised at any time.
For now, the inmate involved in the fire remains in the secure cell under continuous surveillance. The investigation into the events is still open, and new disciplinary or judicial measures are not ruled out. Meanwhile, the centre's staff hope that the authorities will address their demands before a larger tragedy occurs.
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