Independent investigation into death of Hull prisoner James Wood finds no ‘non-clinical issues of concern’

The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) at HMP Hull, is looking for members of the local community to join them.
-Credit: (Image: Peter Harbour)


An independent investigation following the death of a Hull prisoner from cancer ‘did not find any non-clinical issues of concern’, a report by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) has said.

James Wood was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, on February 15, 1993. He died in hospital of cancer on September 4, 2023, while a prisoner at HMP Hull and an inquest held on October 18, 2024, concluded Mr Wood died from natural causes.

The PPO carries out independent investigations into deaths, due to any cause, of prisoners, young people in detention, residents of approved premises and detainees in immigration centres. A report into Mr Wood’s death said: “On 15 February 1993, Mr James Wood was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder.

“He died in hospital of cancer on 4 September 2023, while a prisoner at HMP Hull. He was 52 years old. We offer our condolences to Mr Wood’s family and friends.

“The PPO family liaison officer wrote to Mr Wood’s next of kin to explain the investigation and to ask if they had any matters they wanted us to consider. They did not respond to our letter.

“The PPO investigator investigated the non-clinical issues relating to Mr Wood’s care. We did not find any non-clinical issues of concern.”

NHS England commissioned an independent clinical reviewer to review Mr Wood’s clinical care at Hull. The clinical reviewer concluded that the clinical care Mr Wood received was of a good standard and “mostly equivalent to that which he could have expected to receive in the community”.

The report said: “The clinical reviewer found that on one occasion the care Mr Wood received fell below expectations, when healthcare staff failed to refer Mr Wood for further tests when they first suspected he may have cancer.

“We make the following recommendation related to the clinical care Mr Wood received: The Head of Healthcare should ensure that clinical staff receive training on when to make referrals under the two-week wait cancer pathway, in line with national guidance." The report said: "We shared our initial report with HMPPS [His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service] and the healthcare provider at Hull. They found no factual inaccuracies.”

Healthcare provider Spectrum Community Health CIC provided an action plan in response to the PPO report into Mr Wood’s death. On September 13, 2023, Spectrum said it sent out NICE guidelines for suspected cancer to all staff advising on recognition and referral process for patients with suspected cancer.

Copies of the guidance were available in clinical rooms and the process had been discussed in team meetings and with GPs, it said.