Prisoner, 88, was not seen by doctor
APRISONER with a range of medical conditions was not seen by a prison doctor for three months after he arrived, a report has found.
Clifford Mussard died in hospital on January 1 this year from chronic kidney disease while a prisoner at HMP Parc in Bridgend.
The prison has now been criticised in a report by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, which found the care the 88-year-old received was not equivalent to that he could have expected to receive in the community.
Parc prison, which is a mediumsecurity private prison run by G4S, has said it fully accepted the recommendations by the ombudsman and a review had been completed, with new systems put in place.
The ombudsman’s report said Mr Mussard was jailed in 2017 for 20 years after being convicted for sexual offences. He had already been diagnosed with kidney disease, along with several other long-term health conditions including heart disease, diabetes and anaemia, when he arrived.
But his condition deteriorated over time and he was taken to hospital in December 2018 before dying there three weeks later.
The report said: “On December 9, Mr Mussard refused to take his medication and said that he felt unwell. He was not eating or drinking and was wearing soiled clothing that smelt strongly of urine.
“He was seen by a nurse, who said that he needed to go to hospital to be assessed further and requested a nonemergency ambulance.
“Mr Mussard was treated in hospital for three weeks but his condition deteriorated and on January 1, 2019, he died.”
The hospital gave the cause of death as chronic kidney disease, with anaemia, heart disease and diabetes as contributing factors.
The report states that, despite his numerous medical conditions, Mr Mussard did not see a doctor until January 24, 2018, three months after he
arrived in the prison.
Although he already had kidney disease, prison healthcare staff did not put a kidney care plan in place until November 23, 2018, more than one year later, the report continues. A blood test to measure kidney function was requested on February 26, 2018, but was not completed until almost six months later.
Mr Mussard was the 11th prisoner to die at Parc prison since January 2017. Of the previous deaths, four were selfinflicted and six were from natural causes.
In an investigation into a death from natural causes in October 2018 the ombudsman made a similar finding.
The report concluded: “The head of healthcare should ensure that all prisoners with long-term conditions have clear, personalised care plans, with stated aims, planned interventions and regular monitoring.
“Care plans should be created when a condition first becomes apparent or on admission to prison if present then.
“The head of healthcare should ensure that there is a policy and process in place to make sure that all blood tests are actioned by clinical staff in a timely manner.”
The report also recommended that clinical staff consistently use assessment tools and that the head of healthcare should ensure that, when an ambulance is called for an unwell prisoner, the prisoner has regular physical monitoring until the paramedics arrive.
Director of HMP Parc, Janet Wallsgrove said:”On January 1, 2019, Mr Mussard sadly passed away in hospital, where he was being treated for renal failure. His loved ones remain in our thoughts at this difficult time.
“We have fully accepted the Prison and Probation Ombudsman’s recommendations and a review has been completed of our healthcare services with new systems put in place.”