A recent report by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) has exposed significant shortcomings in the healthcare provided to Frederick Heard, an 87-year-old convicted paedophile who died in custody at Parc Prison in Bridgend on 9 August 2019. Heard, originally from Ringland in Newport, had been serving a prison sentence since 2012 following his conviction for a series of serious sexual offences spanning three decades.
Heard was sentenced in 2012 after being found guilty of multiple sexual offences, including indecent assault and attempted rape. These crimes were perpetrated over a 30-year period, concluding in the mid-1990s. The exact details of the victims and specific incidents were not outlined in the PPO report, but the nature of the offences underscored Heard's status as a convicted sex offender. His imprisonment reflected the severity of his actions, which involved the sexual exploitation and abuse of individuals during that extended timeframe.
While incarcerated, Heard's health deteriorated markedly due to pre-existing conditions of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and dementia. The PPO's investigation, published nearly six years after his death, revealed that he did not receive healthcare equivalent to community standards. Key failures included inadequate monitoring of his COPD, with no annual reviews or spirometry tests conducted as recommended, and neglect in addressing his dementia needs. Prison general practitioners repeatedly referred Heard to the Older Adult Community Mental Health Team (OACMHT) in Bridgend, but the team declined involvement due to resource constraints for prison patients.
This bureaucratic standoff over funding and responsibility, involving the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board, persisted until Heard's death, severely impacting his quality of life. The report quoted: 'It appears somewhere in this argument over funding that managers or clinicians in the NHS Health Board forgot that a patient was suffering at the heart of this, leading to significant distress for him, other prisoners, and indeed the HMP Parc staff doing their best for him.' Heard's dementia progressed to the point where, in July 2017, he was reported as distressed, unaware of his imprisonment, and self-harming by banging on his cell door at night. By March 2019, he developed pneumonia, requiring hospitalisation until 17 March, after which he was deemed at high risk of falls.
In the months leading to his death, Heard's condition worsened further. Diagnosed with bronchopneumonia in July 2019, he endured multiple hospitalisations for breathlessness and COPD exacerbations. On the day of his passing, Heard was granted compassionate release on medical grounds, but he succumbed to pneumonia nonetheless. Despite commendations for the day-to-day compassionate care from prison and healthcare staff, the PPO concluded that systemic issues prevented adequate treatment. The report issued recommendations, including mandatory annual COPD reviews for prisoners, training for nursing staff in chronic disease monitoring, and improved liaison between Parc Prison's healthcare leads, G4S (the prison operator), and the health board to ensure dementia services for inmates. Additionally, it urged the HMPPS Executive Director for Wales to eliminate barriers to mental health services in other Welsh prisons.
The PPO's findings highlight broader concerns about healthcare in UK prisons, particularly for elderly and vulnerable inmates like Heard. Parc Prison has faced ongoing criticism, recording 17 inmate deaths in the previous year alone, attributed to factors such as drug misuse, self-harm, and natural causes. This case serves as a stark reminder of the need for enhanced cooperation between prison authorities and NHS providers to uphold care standards behind bars.