A Southampton sex offender died after being taken ill at a prison with poor healthcare facilities for elderly inmates, an investigation has found.

A report by Prisons & Probation Ombudsman (PPO) says the death of 92-year-old Gordon Dunn raises key questions about how best to meet the needs of prisoners who need 24-hour care.

Dunn, who had a long and complex medical history, died on March 31, 2022 before he could be transferred to a residential care home.

In 2019, he was jailed for eight years.

Dunn, formerly of Merton Road in Highfield, was locked up after being found guilty of sexually abusing a young boy over a six-year-period between 2012 and 2018.

He had denied sexual assault on a child and two counts of sexual activity with a child, but was found guilty after a trial.

Gordon Dunn was jailed for eight years at Southampton Crown Court after being convicted of sexually abusing a young boy (Image: Newsquest)

Judge Peter Henry told him: "Of course I am aware you are 90 years old but age itself is not a mitigating factor.

“These are serious matters... and they must be met with a commensurate sentence.”

READ MORE: Gordon Dunn jailed for eight years after being convicted of sexually abusing boy over six-year-period

In January 2022, Dunn was moved from HMP Dartmoor to HMP The Verne, at Portland, Dorset, which did not have 24-hour healthcare provision.

Two months later, he tested positive for Covid-19 and was placed in isolation. He was subsequently taken to hospital but treatment stopped on March 31 and he died later that day.

The PPO report says prison should do more to help elderly inmates with complex care needsThe PPO report says prison should do more to help elderly inmates with complex care needs (Image: PA)

The PPO report says: "The Verne was not equipped to manage Mr Dunn’s complex care needs. With an increasing elderly prison population, HM Prison and Probation Service should consider how best to provide 24-hour care for prisoners who cannot be easily or quickly released."

Mr Dunn’s clinical care at The Verne was only partially equivalent to what he could have expected to receive in the community.

"Healthcare staff did not monitor Mr Dunn’s health using the NEWS2 tool (to detect acute illness and deterioration) as they should have done, which is not in line with NICE guidelines.

"On 11 February, the social care assessment concluded that Mr Dunn needed full-time residential care and Dorset Council were exploring suitable residential care homes for him.

"Mr Dunn was a very elderly man whose health and social care needs could not easily be met in prison.

"Prison and healthcare staff at The Verne were both moved and troubled by Mr Dunn’s condition and the limitations on the care they could provide him in prison."

"Clearly, the prison had to make difficult decisions with limited options.

"However, the evidence suggests that neither the Care and Separation Unit nor care suite were suitable locations for a man with Mr Dunn’s needs."