Prison staff criticised over medication failure after Leeds remand inmate dies

Staff at HMP Leeds have been condemned following the death of a remand prisoner.

Richard Pinder died of lung failure in December of last year while being held at the Armley jail.

An investigation into the 41-year-old’s death found that he was being given the wrong medication at the time.

A report recently published by the Prison & Probation Ombudsman (PPO) suggested that an independent review by NHS England concluded that “healthcare staff did not appropriately identify which medications Mr Pinder had been prescribed in the community and, as result, he was inappropriately medicated for several months”.

The reviewer also found that healthcare staff inappropriately discharged Mr Pinder from the learning disability caseload, suggesting that he was a vulnerable prisoner.

Mr Pinder was remanded on June 30 last year for alleged offences of grievous bodily harm and assault.

He was taken to hospital on December 9 but his family were only notified on December 22, once his condition became life threatening.

Mr Pinder could have requested to speak to his family after seven days in hospital, but there is no evidence that he did.

However, with the PPO considering him a vulnerable inmate, and that it was his first time in prison so he was perhaps unaware of his rights, they suggested staff should have offered him the chance.

He died on December 28 of severe respiratory failure, caused by exacerbation of interstitial lung disease which, in turn, was caused by pneumonia and pneumocystis carinii.

The report suggested he also suffered from liver disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (thickening of the heart muscle), diabetes mellitus and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (fast heart rate).

Although they contributed to his condition, they did not cause Mr Pinder’s death.

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An inquest held in January concluded that he died of natural causes.

The PPO concluded: “The head of healthcare should ensure that all previously prescribed medicines are continued after arrival at HMP Leeds unless there is a clinical rationale not to continue.”

In terms of Mr Pinder’s vulnerabilities, they added: “The head of healthcare should ensure that all decisions to discharge someone from a mental health/learning disabilities caseload are based on a complete picture of the individual’s needs for support and monitoring.”