speaking out | 

Sacked prison officer claims ‘paedophiles and rapists treated me better’ than her bosses

Mrs Kealey is speaking publicly for the first time about her “nightmare” ordeal in the hope things will improve for her former colleagues.

Today at 05:54

A former prison officer claims she was sacked from a job she loved because of her mental health difficulties.

Hayley Kealey, who was dismissed from her job at Magilligan Prison in 2021 after two extended periods of sick leave, has criticised the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) for its “lack of support” for struggling employees.

“I was treated better by paedophiles and rapists in the jail than I was by the prison service,” she said.

Mrs Kealey is today speaking publicly for the first time about her “nightmare” ordeal in the hope things will improve for her former colleagues.

“I feel that I was treated so unfairly,” she said. “They just didn’t have any empathy or understanding. I was basically just a number and they didn’t care at all.”

As well as managing some of the most dangerous people in society every day, prison officers and their families also still face threats from paramilitary groups.

In 2020, the Minister for Justice, Naomi Long, commissioned Queen’s University to carry out a review of support services for prison staff in Northern Ireland.

The research found that NIPS had the highest level of staff absenteeism of any department within the Northern Ireland Civil Service.

However, the review team’s report, which was published in November 2020, said there “remained an issue” among prison officers with raising concerns about their mental health.

“There was a running theme that mental health issues were not treated in the same way as physical injuries and that they went unseen and, in turn, potentially unheard,” the report stated.

Shortly after the report’s publication, Mrs Kealey was informed by prison chiefs she was being sacked due to her own sickness absence issues.

The Coleraine woman joined the prison service in 2013.

“I loved the job. Even with the prisoners, I never had a bad experience,” she said.

“It was a job I thoroughly enjoyed, and I felt like I was making a difference for people which is something I have always wanted to do.”

However, in January 2018, Mrs Kealey went off on sick leave due to personal circumstances.

She returned to work in June 2018 and received a promotion a few months later.

However, by September 2019 she was struggling to cope with the demands of the job and her own mental health issues. As a result, she went off on sick leave again.

In January 2020, she had a meeting with NIPS human resources staff during which a planned return to work was discussed.

Mrs Kealey was preparing to return to Magilligan prison in March 2020 when, just days before she was due back at work, she received a letter to say that she was being sacked for “inefficiency arising from unacceptable attendance”.

Mrs Kealey appealed her dismissal through internal processes within both NIPS and the civil service but failed to get the decision overturned. She then initiated an industrial tribunal case for unfair dismissal against her former employers.

However, the legal costs for the case became too much and Mrs Kealey withdrew her case last year.

Despite this, NIPS are pursuing their former employee for costs accrued during the run-up to the planned industrial tribunal case.

A hearing in relation to these costs is due to be held in Belfast next week.

Mrs Kealey described her ordeal during recent years as a “nightmare”.

“The prison service is always talking about supporting officers’ mental health but from my experience that was not how officers were treated.

“And I know there were other officers who went through a similar experience to me.

“There are some officers who have been off for long periods due to physical issues but they have not been sacked.

“Is it they just want to get rid of staff with mental health issues and sweep it under the carpet?”

Mrs Kealey said it is important to highlight issues around mental health.

“Mental health used to be a taboo subject, but it is not any more.

“I was always open and honest about what I was going through with my colleagues but I just feel persecuted and penalised by those in charge of the prison service.

“I should not be ashamed that I have mental health issues.

“There was maybe a belief that I was a prisoner officer, in a very stressful job, and I should just suck it up.

“They say they want to help, they say they want this issue out in the open but when it comes down to it, they do not. It feels like they just don’t care.”

The former prison officer said her life has been “destroyed” by what she has gone through in recent years.

“It has made my anxiety and mental health a thousand times worse because now I feel I don’t have the confidence to do anything.

“I haven’t been on holiday since 2019 because I take panic attacks.

“The way I was treated by the prison service put me into early menopause, so I’m also dealing with all the symptoms of that.

“I have post-traumatic stress disorder and I’m going to sleep and having nightmares about how I was treated at work.

“My husband has to force me to go out for a walk with the dogs. I might put a picture on Facebook or Instagram, but no one knows what’s happening in the background.

“It’s ridiculous. I was a prison officer before and all the responsibility that comes with that, but now I struggle to go out the door. My anxiety is so severe. It’s debilitating.

“I’ve applied for other jobs and got them, but then I was unable to take up the jobs because of my anxiety.”

Mrs Kealey said the ongoing battle with NIPS over legal costs around the industrial tribunal case is prolonging her difficulties.

“I just want closure on this. I want to be able to get on with my life.

“I am not the person I was, and I don’t want to live the rest of my life like this.”

The Sunday World asked NIPS a number of questions in relation to Mrs Kealey’s case, but the organisation said they do not comment on individual employee cases.

However, a NIPS spokesperson said they provide a wide range of wellbeing support services to all of its employees, including those on long-term sickness absence.

“These include the Welfare Support Services which provides an independent and confidential service to all staff helping them to work through personal and work-related issues which may affect their ability to work effectively.

“Staff can also self-refer to Inspire Workplace Services and the NICS confidential Employee Assistance Programme, which provides bespoke counselling services.

“The prison service also has bespoke services with the Police Rehabilitation and Retraining Trust for prison officers who are suffering with mental health issues or who have sustained a physical injury.”