A convicted sex offender who spent years behind bars without understanding he was in prison has died, raising grave concerns over the standards of dementia care within the UK prison service. Frederick Heard, who was serving a 16-year sentence for historical child sexual abuse, passed away at the age of 87 at HMP Parc in Bridgend, Wales, in August 2019. The prisons ombudsman has now released a highly critical report into the events leading up to his death, condemning the care and oversight afforded to Heard during his incarceration.
Heard, originally from Ringland, Newport, was sentenced back in 2012 after a jury at Cardiff Crown Court found him guilty on multiple charges that included five counts of indecent assault, six offences of indecency with a child, attempted rape, and two additional sexual offences. His crimes spanned three decades, from the mid-1960s to the 1990s, leaving a devastating impact on his victims.
The newly released ombudsman’s report, however, has revealed that within just a few years of starting his sentence, Heard began to display clear signs of not comprehending the reality of his imprisonment. Suffering from both vascular dementia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), he reportedly experienced severe confusion, distress and even self-harm, frequently injuring himself by repeatedly banging on his cell door, believing he was not incarcerated.
Crucially, from as early as December 2012, prison medical staff attempted to secure help from the local NHS mental health team for older adults. Despite repeated referrals, support was consistently denied, with the local service stating it was simply not equipped to treat prisoners. For several years, this bureaucratic deadlock left Heard without specialist care for his worsening dementia, raising pressing questions about the adequacy and resourcing of mental health services within penal institutions.
The ombudsman’s report, authored by Sue McAllister, describes a system riddled with delays and administrative hurdles. By July 2017, multidisciplinary teams of prison, healthcare and social care professionals convened in recognition of Heard’s deteriorating mental state, but meaningful intervention was lacking. Protective padding was eventually applied to his cell door in March 2019 out of concern for his safety, but this proved insufficient.
Heard’s health continued to decline rapidly. In one incident, his hand was severely injured from continual strikes against the door, leading to a hospital admission. During his stay, he developed pneumonia, and although he returned to HMP Parc, his respiratory health sharply deteriorated. By July he required further hospitalisation, and in August 2019, he died from bronchopneumonia – having been technically granted compassionate release on the very day of his death.
In the wake of this tragedy, Sue McAllister stated: “Within a few years at Parc it was clear that Mr Heard had no idea he was serving a prison sentence. I am deeply troubled that protracted debates over funding prevented the prompt delivery of appropriate dementia care, seriously undermining his wellbeing.” McAllister further labelled the lengthy impasse between authorities “completely unacceptable”.
A clinical reviewer added that in the ongoing arguments about funding, “managers or clinicians in the NHS health board forgot that a patient was suffering at the heart of this”, causing “significant distress” not only to Heard himself but also to fellow inmates and staff at HMP Parc who had struggled to support him.
According to the ombudsman, the prison also failed to adequately monitor Heard’s COPD and did not provide the necessary specialist dementia care. Since Heard’s death, the healthcare responsibility for the prison has moved from Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board (now Swansea Bay University Health Board) to the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board. WalesOnline has sought answers as to why it took almost six years for the ombudsman’s findings to be published and whether such delays may inhibit necessary reforms.
This case, intersecting questions of criminal justice, mental health provision, and the responsibilities of public health bodies, has ignited a broader debate about the ability of UK prisons to meet the needs of elderly and vulnerable incarcerated people. The report comes at a time when Parc prison itself has been the subject of further negative attention over poor conditions and questions continue to swirl around the issue of accountability and reform within the criminal justice system.