Child molester died “in pain” in prison

A child molester who died in custody was found to have not received adequate medical care toward the end of his life.

Edward Coysh was serving a ten-year prison sentence for sex offences when he died following a trial at HMP Wymott, near Leyland, in May 2018. He had been found guilty of raping a child under the age of 16 in the 1960s.

The 74-year-old died of cancer on April 26, 2021. According to an investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, Coysh did not receive the medical care he could have expected, reports Yorkshire Live.

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The Ombudsman’s report states: “The clinical assessor concluded that the medical care Mr Coysh received at HMP Wymott was not equivalent to that which he could have expected in the community. The clinical assessor was concerned that medical staff failed to recognise Mr Coysh’s ongoing liver dysfunction when he arrived at the prison and that he was not referred earlier for assessment to NHS cancer specialists.

“In addition, his pain management was inadequate and medical staff failed to seek specialist advice that could have significantly improved Mr Coysh’s quality of life.”

The clinical assessor highlighted that Coysh received a mixed standard of healthcare, with some examples of good practice alongside “notable areas for improvement”.

On April 18, Coysh, who formerly lived in Wakefield, was informed in hospital that he was suffering from terminal liver and lung cancer. At the time, his life expectancy and prognosis were still unclear, but the prison had already begun applying for early release on humanitarian grounds on his behalf.

On April 26, Coysh died in hospital before the application was finalized. The clinical assessor added that Coysh’s pain management had been “inadequate” and that “the significance of the pain Mr. Coysh experienced was not always recognized.”

They added: “As a result, nothing was done and Mr Coysh continued to be in pain. The clinical assessor was also concerned that when a nurse noted Mr Coysh’s severe pain on 10 April 2021, she did not consider bringing forward his GP appointment.”