A prisoner jailed for stabbing a friend following a row over a bus pass died in custody after 'unnecessary delays' to his cancer treatment following his diagnosis, a watchdog has said after an investigation.
The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) said it found faults in the care of Felix Petersen, who was jailed for four years in 2021 for attacking a man with a large kitchen knife in Hulme.
Peterson, then aged 66 and of Moss Lane East, Hulme, slashed at Daniel Savage after becoming aggressive as the pair drank vodka in a flat on Greenheys Lane in January that year. He admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
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While serving his sentence at Wrexham prison HMP Berwyn Petersen, who had cancer, died at Wrexham Maelor Hospital. An investigation by the PPO found samples taken from him towards the end of his life were sent to the wrong laboratory, with some going missing, reports North Wales Live.
This didn't have an effect on the outcome - his death - but the watchdog ordered the prison's health bosses to review their procedures, reveals a report.
The PPO, who looks into deaths in custody, found he died in Wrexham Maelor Hospital on July 11, 2022 of sepsis - a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by an infection - caused by metastatic lung cancer.
It said a clinical reviewer found Petersen’s suspected cancer was investigated at the earliest opportunity, to ensure he could receive the appropriate treatment and care.
But the now published report of the investigation said the PPO was 'concerned to find that there were unnecessary delays to Petersen’s cancer treatment following diagnosis'.
Two hospital appointments were delayed due to failures in transporting blood tests from the prison to the hospital. While there were unavoidable issues caused by Covid-19 restrictions at the time, the PPO found "procedural problems" contributed to the delays and that should be addressed by the healthcare team.
The PPO also found that Petersen had been unable to attend his first chemotherapy session because his blood samples had been sent to the wrong laboratory for processing on January 5, 2022. The PPO also found that on March 1 the hospital had to rearrange Petersen’s third session of chemotherapy for March 4 instead because his blood tests went missing between HMP Berwyn and Wrexham Maelor Hospital.
The PPO said: "We are concerned that these serious procedural issues were not followed up by the prison. Although there is no evidence of an impact on the outcome for Mr Petersen, it is important that the process is revised in order to prevent delays for future patients, for whom timely treatment might make a difference."
The PPO recommended that the head of healthcare should review systems for pre-treatment processes and the sending of medical samples to ensure they are fit for purpose and to prevent delays in patients accessing urgent treatment. HMP Berwyn staff had started an application for Petersen's early release on compassionate grounds, on the basis of his terminal illness.
The prison also facilitated visits from his family. But Petersen was transferred to hospital and died there at 8.30pm on July 11. He was 67.
The outcome of the compassionate release application was not received before Mr Petersen died. A coroner held an inquest on May 17 this year. They accepted the cause of death provided by a hospital doctor as sepsis, with an unknown source, caused by metastatic lung cancer that has spread within the body.
