A prisoner who attacked a woman died in hospital amid delays in an application for compassionate leave.
Owen Maughan was jailed in 2020 after he battered a woman in Blackburn with a metal pole, LancsLive reports. Within months of his 18 month sentence, he became seriously ill.
Maughan, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer, was moved from HMP Lancaster Farms to HMP Preston so he could receive 24-hour health care. He was then treated between the prison and the Royal Preston Hospital, where he died without his family able to be by his side.
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An application for compassionate leave and early release from prison was delayed due to the prison not being provided medical information from the hospital. An investigation into his death by the Prisons and Probations Ombudsman (PPO) found that Lancaster Farms started an application for Early Release on Compassionate Grounds on Mr Maughan’s behalf.
However, the investigation found: "The prison could not complete the application because the hospital did not provide them with medical evidence of Mr Maughan’s condition. The prison chased the hospital for this information on several occasions."
Upon Maughan's admittance to Lancaster in May 2020, an initial health screen was carried out, with his pre-existing conditions noted and his observations found to be within the normal range. However, a secondary screen was not carried out as required.
In October of that year, Maughan was taken to hospital after vomiting blood and was diagnosed with bleeding in his stomach, high blood pressure and alcoholic liver disease. After around three weeks of specialist care, he was moved to HMP Preston but remained under the authority of HMP Lancaster Farms.
Upon his arrival at hospital, observations were again carried out and were of such concern that he was immediately taken back to hospital. He returned to the prison the following day but remained there for only a couple of days as his health continued to deteriorate.
One month later, at 9.30pm on December 15, prison bed watch officers told hospital staff that they thought Maughan had died. This was confirmed by a doctor in the early hours of the following morning.
A coroner's investigation gave the cause of death as a blocked bowel caused by a blood clot. It was also found that decompensated alcoholic liver disease contributed to but did not cause Maughan's death.
The PPO reports that Maughan's mother raised concerns over the timing of being told of Mr Maughan’s death, compassionate release and the fact that she was unable to be with her son when he died. In her report, Assistant Prisons and Probation Ombudsman Lisa Burrell said the family liaison log provided by the prison was incomplete.
She wrote: "The prison told us that they did have a FLO log in place but not all communications with Mr Maughan’s family were recorded. We make the following recommendation: The Governor should ensure that a family liaison log is started as soon as the family liaison officer is deployed and all communications with the family are recorded."
An inquest into Maughan's death, held in January, declared he died of natural causes. Coroner Nicholas Rheinberg told the coroners court he had a history drinking "excess alcohol" and at times could drink nine bottles of a wine a day.
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