Disgraced publicist Max Clifford was given wrongly-labelled medication at least twice in prison before he died, a report has found.<\/p>\n
Clifford, 74, died two years ago while serving an eight-year sentence at Littlehey Prison in Cambridgeshire for historical sex offences.<\/p>\n
The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman said inmates should be monitored more closely to ensure medicine was taken.<\/p>\n
The prison’s healthcare provider said it had implemented a plan to improve.<\/p>\n
The report, written in November 2018, was published<\/a>\u00a0after an inquest into Clifford’s death concluded he had died of natural causes.<\/p>\n On one occasion Clifford became dizzy after taking a mislabelled tablet four times the intended strength, the report said.<\/p>\n He told staff he realised their error because of the effects of taking the 8mg tablet of a heart medication that was labelled as 2mg.<\/p>\n After Clifford’s death, “a significant quantity” of prescription medicine was found unused in his cell, said deputy ombudsman Richard Pickering.<\/p>\n “We are concerned that Mr Clifford was given incorrectly labelled medication on at least two occasions, and that staff did not monitor his medication compliance adequately at other time,” he wrote.<\/p>\n He also raised concerns at a delay in transferring Clifford to hospital, because staff called an urgent ambulance instead of the emergency one the GP requested.<\/p>\n The report recommends that prison pharmacy services be reviewed to avoid medication errors, staff ensure patients take their medication and respond with greater urgency to emergency situations.<\/p>\n Clifford died on 10 December 2017 at Hinchingbrooke Hospital, near Huntingdon, where he was taken after collapsing in the shower.<\/p>\n His inquest heard he could have received better care if his heart condition had been diagnosed sooner.<\/p>\n A post-mortem examination recorded the cause of death as congestive heart failure.<\/p>\n Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, which provides healthcare at HMP Littlehey, said the coroner had accepted its action plan and evidence of implementation.<\/p>\n It said it would “continue to share learning and implement our findings to ensure our care is of a high standard”.<\/p>\n Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"