A loyalist killer who died of a heart attack in prison should have been checked every day for health problems, a report said today.
UDA paramilitary Harry Speers (49), was found unconscious in his Maghaberry cell after the prison nurse thought medical observations should stop as his condition had improved, a report by Prisoner Ombudsman Pauline McCabe said.
A medical reviewer found that the standard of care fell below common and acceptable practice. But Ms McCabe acknowledged some good care by medical staff and praised the considerate response of wardens in the hours before his death.
The 57-page report said: “There is no evidence that baseline investigations, which the doctor requested to be carried out on at least a daily basis from February 12th, 2008, were undertaken.”
Speers, from Newtownabbey, died on February 18th, 2008 after complaining of chest pains. He also had a stomach condition called ulcerative colitis. He was imprisoned in 2004 for beating Trevor Lowry to death.
Mr Lowry (49), a father of two from Glengormley, died on March 31st, 2001, two days after being lured into an alleyway at Harmin Drive in the village where he was attacked and brutally beaten.
Speers, a former Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) councillor, was sentenced to life imprisonment and told he must serve a minimum of 15 years.
On the day of his death Speers had an appointment at Belfast City Hospital with a gastroenterologist. When he returned to prison, he complained of feeling unwell and suffering pains in his chest.
After the nurse examined him, he diagnosed him with a gastric intestinal complaint, which was common and good practice, according to clinical reviewer Dr Neil Lloyd-Jones. The report said a nurse was aware of a request from the prison doctor for daily observations.
The healthcare manager told the ombudsman: “Her understanding of the note was that the observations were to be carried out if Mr Speers was unwell and, as he had improved, she felt that the note no longer applied.”
In assessing the inmate’s treatment in prison, Dr Lloyd-Jones concluded his treatment was mainly consistent with accepted medical practice.
He was offered advice about stopping smoking and treatment for a head injury.
The Ombudsman made three recommendations:
- A review should be established of arrangements in the healthcare centre for the acting on and recording of responses to doctor requests for baseline investigations/patient monitoring;
- The centre should ensure reviews of blood tests take place as soon as possible after results become available. Speers’ consultation took place five days after blood tests were received;
- A dispute over whether an ambulance was called means there should be a clear statement on the policy on calling for the emergency response where cardiopulmonary resuscitation is performed.
PA