Child molester died ‘in pain’ in Lancashire prison while awaiting ‘compassionate’ release

An investigation found that a child molester who died in custody did not receive adequate medical care at the end of his life.

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

The 74-year-old died of cancer in prison on April 26, 2021. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman investigated his death and concluded that Coysh had received medical care that fell short of what he could have expected in the community.

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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 concluded that the clinical care Coysh received at HMP Wymott was variable. There were some examples of good practice but also “significant areas that require improvement”. On April 18, Coysh, who used to live in Wakefield, was told in hospital that he had terminal cancer, which had primarily affected his liver and lungs, YorkshireLive reports.

Although his prognosis was not yet clear and his life expectancy was unknown, the prison began processing a request for early humanitarian release on his behalf. On April 26, Coysh died in hospital before the request for early humanitarian release was completed.

The clinical assessor said Coysh’s pain management had been “inadequate” and that “the significance of the pain Mr Coysh experienced was not always recognized.”

“As a result, nothing was done and Mr Coysh continued to suffer pain. The clinical assessor was also concerned that when a nurse saw that Mr Coysh was in significant pain on 10 April 2021, she did not consider bringing forward his GP appointment.”

The Ombudsman’s report contains a number of recommendations.