THE investigation into the death of a Winsford prisoner serving time for drug dealing has concluded.

Raymond Cartwright, formerly of Ford Court, was jailed for five-and-a-half years in October 2019 after police raided his home and found crack cocaine and heroin hidden in his sock.

But while serving his sentence in HMP Risley, Cartwright was diagnosed with hepatitis C and liver cancer before his health deteriorated.

The 55-year-old eventually died in Warrington Hospital on August 6, 2023, becoming the 11th death in three years at Risley.

An investigation into Cartwright's death was launched by the Prison and Probation Ombudsman (PPO), which published its report on Friday, November 22.

The report stated: "The clinical reviewer found the care Mr Cartwright received was of a standard equivalent to that which would have been expected in the community.

"However, Mr Cartwright failed to attend several clinical appointments relating to his hepatitis C infection and Risley did not record the reasons for his non-attendance.

"The high number of missed clinical appointments was an issue highlighted by HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) in their report following their inspection in April 2023.

"Mr Cartwright was restrained on the two occasions he went to hospital in June and August 2023. There were deficits in the recording of the information that went into the decision making on both occasions."

According to the report, Cartwright had an 'extensive history' of not attending appointments, going back many years, and had failed to to turn up to many of his initial hepatitis C clinical appointments.

It added the head of healthcare at the prison told the reviewer an inmate's non-attendance for an appointment is noted in their medical record, but without any explanation as to why.

The PPO made the following recommendation: "The governor and head of healthcare should agree protocols for recording the reasons for missed clinical appointments, audit these and appropriately address any emerging issues."

With regards to the deficits in the decision-making regarding the prisoner being restrained on trips to hospital, the PPO report added: "The governor should ensure the medical sections of risk assessments are fully completed.

"And in circumstances where this is genuinely not possible, the authorising officer should indicate why, and when restraint levels will be reassessed."