Finding into death of H V

79y · Male·Complications of ischaemic heart disease

HV was a 79-year-old man who died in custody at Port Phillip Prison from complications of ischaemic heart disease. He had significant cardiac history including previous myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation, pulmonary embolism, pleural effusion and congestive heart failure. He collapsed in his cell on the morning of 19 October 2019 and despite immediate CPR by his cellmate, prison medical staff, and ambulance paramedics, could not be revived. Both the Justice Assurance and Review Office and Justice Health reviewed his care and concluded that custodial management and healthcare provision met appropriate standards. The death was from natural causes with no preventable factors identified. The clinical lesson is that prisoners with significant cardiac disease require careful monitoring, though in this case no deficiency in care was found.