A convicted murderer from Manchester died in hospital from Covid-19 pneumonia after he 'stopped shielding' in prison despite being warned, an official published report has revealed.
Robert Kavanagh pleaded guilty to the murder of Gareth Broadhurst in Sale, Trafford, and was jailed for life by a judge at Manchester Crown Court in December, 2007.
Mr Broadhurst, a dad from Newbury Avenue in Sale, was viciously attacked at a flat on Thirsk Avenue, Sale, in June 2007.
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He passed away at Salford Royal Hospital aged just 22, weeks after the incident.
An official report published earlier this month by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO), which carries out independent investigations into complaints and deaths in custody, confirmed Kavanagh died in hospital of 'Covid-19 pneumonia' on January 6 this year.
At the time he was 46 and a serving prisoner at HMP Stoke Heath, a medium secure prison in Shropshire.
The report concluded the 'clinical care' Kavanagh received at Stoke Heath was 'overall, equivalent to that which he could have expected to receive in the community'.
And it added that based on the evidence available, it was 'likely' that he contracted Covid in the prison before he was taken to hospital.
Kavanagh, then from the Bradford area of Manchester, was one of four people who admitted being involved in Mr Broadhurst's death.
Steven Whitehouse also pleaded guilty to murder and was jailed for life.
A third man admitted manslaughter.
A court heard his killers wrongly believed Mr Broadhurst was a 'grass'.
The PPO report said Kavanagh, a former drug user who was on a methadone programme, was moved to HMP Stoke Heath in May, 2019.
Towards the end of 2019, after Kavanagh had complained of breathlessness, a prison GP made a provisional diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, it added.
On March 27 last year, healthcare staff sent him a letter saying that due to his underlying health conditions, he was at a 'high risk' of becoming seriously ill if he contracted Covid - and he was advised to shield.
He agreed to self-isolate in his cell two days later but in June 'said that he no longer wanted to self-isolate and signed a disclaimer to that effect', the report said.
Kavanagh was taken to hospital after falling ill on December 22 last year.
The report reveals his health continued to deteriorate and he was put on a ventilator, but died on January 6, 2021.
The report said: "The coroner accepted the cause of death provided by a hospital doctor and no post-mortem examination was carried out.
"The doctor gave the cause of death as Covid-19 pneumonia, COPD and being an ex-intravenous drug user."
Healthcare staff identified that Mr Kavanagh was at high risk of becoming seriously ill if he contracted Covid-19 and on March 27, sent him a letter advising him to shield.
"Staff followed this up with a face to face discussion the next day. Despite shielding initially, Mr Kavanagh changed his mind at the end of June and stopped shielding.
"The investigation found that the prison responded to the national guidance on Covid-19.
"Staff identified that Mr Kavanagh was at high risk of complications if he contracted COVID-19 and advised him to shield.
"However, Mr Kavanagh stopped doing so."
