An Aberystwyth man accused of arson died of cancer in prison after healthcare staff delayed further investigations into his unexplained weight loss and abnormal blood test results, an ombudsman investigation has found.

Mark Waterman, then of 21 Parc Graig Glais, Upper Queens Road, was remanded in custody at a hearing at Aberystwyth Magistrates’ Court on 11 June last year.

The 54-year-old was accused of arson with recklessness as to whether life was endangered at Parc Graig Glas on 9 June.

Waterman was held in custody at HMP Swansea.

He died on 7 October.

An investigation into Waterman’s death was launched by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman Adrian Usher, while Healthcare Inspectorate Wales commissioned an independent clinical reviewer to review Waterman’s clinical care.

A report released last month found failings in the healthcare of Waterman by Swansea Bay University Health Board.

The Ombudsman report found that “the clinical reviewer concluded that the clinical care Mr Waterman received at Swansea was not equivalent to that which he could have expected to receive in the community.”

“He found that there was a delay in healthcare staff referring Mr Waterman for further investigations into his unexplained weight loss and abnormal blood test results,” the report added.

The Ombudsman recommended that “the Head of Healthcare should review how the GP service manages abnormal blood markers in the context of unintentional weight loss” and “establish a formal dietetic referral pathway for any prisoner experiencing unintentional weight loss.”

Swansea Bay University Health Board accepted both recommendations, and said it had already completed work on creating a referral pathway.

“The clinical reviewer made 11 other recommendations not related to Waterman’s death which the Head of Healthcare will wish to address,” the report added.

An inquest on 1 April into Mr Waterman’s death concluded he died from natural causes.