A recently released Otago prisoner now needs surgery because he did not receive the medical treatment he should have got in prison.
Whenu Knight ripped an achilles tendon while playing touch rugby in prison but says it was treated at the time only with an icepack and panadol.
Whenu Knight. Photo: RNZ
Radio New Zealand has revealed police are investigating accusations that another prisoner, Jai Davis, received sub-standard care while on remand at Otago prison before he died in February 2011.
Police are also reviewing their investigation of the death of Richard Barriball four months earlier, in October 2010.
Radio New Zealand News has seen doctors' records of Mr Knight's treatment after release, showing he now needs semi-urgent reconstructive surgery for what is described as a neglected rupture.
Mr Knight says Otago prison's medical service did not give him the care he deserved and the delayed treatment means he will never regain full strength in his ankle.
He says it was painful to walk and he complained to prison staff many times but was never given crutches or any other help.
"The pain just got worse and worse as the days went by. I kept putting in green chit after green chit which is the only way you can speak to a medical staff. They just fob you off; they're not even trying to deal for you."
Mr Knight has consulted his GP several times and an orthopaedic surgeon at Dunedin Hospital.
He has been told he needed minor surgery straight after the injury but now needs a more serious operation.
A doctor specialising in sports medicine has confirmed that with prompt treatment involving a fixed cast or surgery, people with such an injury normally make a full recovery.
The Corrections Department would not discuss Mr Knight's case on Wednesday, saying it never comments on the health or management of individual prisoners.
