Max Clifford: Disgraced publicist given wrongly labelled medication in prison before death, report finds

Clifford was serving a sentence for historical sex offences when he was diagnosed with heart failure

Max Clifford arrives at Southwark Crown Court in 2014 (AFP)

Celebrity publicist Max Clifford was given wrongly labelled medication in prison and failed to take a “significant quantity” of tablets to treat his heart condition before he died, a report has found.

He went into cardiac arrest and died on 10 December 2017, after being treated for suspected heart failure.

Clifford, 74, had been serving an eight-year sentence at HMP Littlehey for historical sex offences against girls and women.

A report by the prisons and probation ombudsman said he was one of three prisoners to die of natural causes in the jail that weekend, although there were no similarities between the deaths.

When Clifford arrived at HMP Littlehey in 2014, tests showed he had a history of prostate cancer and was on prescribed medication for high blood pressure, but three years later a review revealed suspected heart failure.

The watchdog said that Clifford was sent for tests and given heart failure drugs, but then “started avoiding some medication because of its side-effects”.

His condition worsened but the disgraced publicist refused an urgent CT scan appointment on 7 December because of a legal visit.

The following morning, Clifford told a nurse he had collapsed in the shower and a GP asked the prison to call an emergency ambulance.

But the watchdog found that an “urgent but non-emergency ambulance” was called at 12.45pm instead, and did not arrive until 3pm.

The ombudsman said it was “concerned that there was both a delay in calling for an ambulance, and that an emergency ambulance was not called”.

Richard Pickering, the deputy prisons and probation ombudsman, said Clifford’s health issues had previously been managed appropriately.

“However, there was confusion with his medication being incorrectly labelled on at least two occasions, and it was clear that Mr Clifford was not taking his medication as prescribed,” he added.

“We are concerned that Mr Clifford was given incorrectly labelled medication on at least two occasions, and that staff did not monitor his medication compliance adequately at other times.”

In October 2017, Clifford spotted a labelling mistake himself and returned a box of tablets after “nearly passing out” when he took one.

The medication had been labelled as a 2mg dose when in fact they were four times stronger.

Clifford was conscious when he arrived at Hinchingbrooke hospital after his collapse in December but his condition deteriorated and he required resuscitation twice before suffering a fatal cardiac arrest.

A post-mortem examination recorded the cause of death as congestive heart failure.

The report was written in November 2018 but was published after an inquest earlier this month found Clifford had died of natural causes.

The trust that provides healthcare at HMP Littlehey said the coroner had accepted its action plan and evidence of implementation.

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust said it would “continue to share learning and implement our findings to ensure our care is of a high standard”.