Report flags up healthcare failings for sex offender who died in prison

Former builder, Frank Bone, of Queensway, Old Dalby, was jailed in August 2022 for more than six years for sexually abusing two little girls.

Bone’s offences caused lifelong distress to his victims – one of them, now aged in her middle 30s, read a moving victim impact statement in court after he was found guilty at a trial.

The woman, who was aged five when the abuse began in the Melton area, said in her statement: “The outcome of this trial can never take away what the defendant did to me as a defenceless child and the life-long impact his abhorrent actions continue to have on me every single day.”

Bone died of ischaemic heart disease on November 2, 2022, aged 82, at HMP Whatton, in Nottinghamshire.

A subsequent inquest, in August 2023, found he died of natural causes.

An independent investigation was launched by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman and the results have just been released.

The report states that Bone was initially detained at HMP Leicester and he was taken to hospital by emergency ambulance in September 2022 after feeling unwell.

He was then transferred to HMP Whatton, where it was easier to treat him in a large cell equipped with a hospital bed.

Investigators noted in their report that Bone had pre-existing medical conditions, including type two diabetes, lymphocytic leukaemia and vertigo.

He had previously had a heart attack and stroke and used walking sticks and a wheelchair to move around.

The day before he died, Bone appeared unable to use his left arm and had difficulty standing when he was helped by a healthcare assistant to use the shower. The report found there was no evidence in his medical records of this and no concerns had been raised about his condition with senior nursing staff.

Bone’s lifeless body was discovered on the floor of his cell at 4.02am on November 2 by two members of prison staff. He had been dead for some time, it was concluded.

It was found that Bone did not receive a level of healthcare a patient with similar issues would have been given in the community.

The prisons ombudsman concluded that the Head of Healthcare should ensure care plans are created for all prisoners with a diagnosis of coronary heart disease.

And that all physical injuries sustained when a prisoner suffers a fall are clearly documented in the prisoner’s medical records.

Clinical observations must also be completed and recorded for all prisoner patients displaying symptoms that may suggest a clinical cause for a deterioration in their condition, the report states.

Bone was convicted of four counts of sexual activity with a child aged under 13, between May 1, 2004, and August 29, 2012.

The court also sentenced him on two charges of indecent assault, committed between February 12, 1994, and February 11, 1998, and between February 12, 1994 and April 30, 2004.

He was also convicted of making indecent photographs of a child between January 1, 2013, and July 9, 2018.

The bench sentenced Bone to a total of six years and three months in prison and ordered that he be kept on the sexual offenders register indefinitely.