A notorious Dundee drug-dealer died after being struck down by pneumonia while in prison in Perth.
Edward Burns spent two months of a three-and-a-half-year term behind bars after falling ill last May.
Despite emergency treatment at Perth Royal Infirmary, he died after septic shock set in and he suffered systematic organ failure.
Burns (47), described as a “curse on society” by a sheriff, had once sent drug couriers on weekly trips to Glasgow to pick up thousands of pounds worth of heroin.
He then distributed the drug across Dundee, although he had developed serious health problems as a result of his own addiction.
His illicit trade came to an end after raids on his Hillbank Place home in March and June 2009 saw Tayside Police recover more than £2000 of heroin and a significant sum of money linked to the trade.
Drugs officers also uncovered a bank account where regular cash deposits were made.
Burns was found guilty of supplying heroin and jailed following a trial at Dundee Sheriff Court.
In findings published after a fatal accident inquiry at Perth Sheriff Court, Sheriff Paul Arthurson concluded that the health problems Burns developed as a result of his drug habit had played a significant part in his death.
Medical records revealed that he was suffering from HIV, hepatitis C and psoriasis at the time he was admitted to custody at HMP Perth on March 18 last year.
Prison staff quickly established that he was unfit for work duties and spent most of his time in his cell, tended to by prison medical staff.No warning signDespite his afflictions, the court heard there had been no indication that he required hospitalisation prior to his taking ill on May 20.
The inquiry was told that Burns first indicated to prison officers that he had been unwell overnight at 7.05am that day.
Nursing staff were with him within minutes and medical staff recommended that he have breakfast so that he could receive methadone.
The prison doctor determined that the prisoner was “systematically unwell” and called an ambulance.
Burns was taken to Perth Royal Infirmary, where despite administering antibiotics, medical staff noted a “progressive deterioration of all his organs”.
By around 4pm it became clear that he could not survive and he was pronounced dead at 11.05pm.
The cause of death was recorded by medical staff as “septic shock, secondary to pneumonia, worsened by his HIV infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome”.
In the view of senior medical staff his prognosis could have been different and the progress of his illness not so rapid had he not suffered from HIV.
In his findings Sheriff Arthurson said he was impressed with the care given by prison staff and all nursing and medical practitioners at HMP Perth and Perth Royal Infirmary.
He said: “At all stages the appropriate level of care was offered and the correct medical and nursing steps were taken expeditiously and in a highly-professional manner.”