An Albanian Belmarsh inmate who died in custody was taking part in a “dirty protest” and his cell was covered in faeces and urine, an inquest heard.

Ndricim Sadushi had a cardiac arrest at about 5am on January 20, last year and was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in Woolwich where he was pronounced dead two hours later, an inquest at Inner South London Coroner’s Court heard yesterday (May 26).

The 43-year-old had a history of self-harm and depression and was mute.

The jury also heard evidence from two doctors disputing the amount of blood lost when Mr Sadushi was found in his cell with a 3cm gash to his neck on the afternoon before his death.

It was the fourth time in a week he had needed medical treatment for cutting himself and reopening old wounds.

Repeated blood loss can lead to a low level of oxygen in the blood and affect the organs, in particular the brain, the court heard.

Dr Ekpo Ekpo, a Belmarsh-based GP who treated Mr Sadushi for the cut to the neck at the prison and then sent him to A&E, said there was “blood everywhere” in his cell and a pool of blood under the bed.

However, Dr Abu Watfa, who treated the Belmarsh inmate at QEH, told the court the wound was “superficial” and that he sent Mr Sadushi away with four stitches and instructions to for prison staff to check on him every 15 minutes in case he tried to self-harm.

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Dr Watfa told the court: “He had pigmentation on his skin from where he had put faeces on himself.”

When asked whether Mr Sadushi made nurses uncomfortable and if he wanted him in and out of hospital as quickly as possible, Dr Watfa replied: “Yes, because he was stable.”

Jack Murphy, counsel for the London Ambulance Service, asked Dr Ekpo whether it was possible that the blood was diluted with the urine in Mr Sadushi’s cell to give the impression of a greater volume.

Dr Ekpo said he was not aware that Mr Sadushi had recently urinated on the floor.

Nurses who were working the night shift between January 19 and 20 checked on the inmate at least twice during the night, at 10.35pm and 2.50am.

One of the nurses, Aubrey Amar-Ojok, called Dr Ekpo around 3am with concerns that Mr Sadushi’s oxygen saturation levels were low.

The court heard that the nurses thought Mr Sadushi was conscious when they checked on him as they could hear him snoring and that they turned Mr Sadushi over to make him more comfortable.

When asked by Senior Coroner Andrew Harris why he didn’t try to wake him up, Mr Amar-Ojok said: “Mr Sadushi can become very agitated if woken up and because I couldn’t see any signs of distress I didn’t want to.

“I did of course want to check that he was alive and conscious.”

During the 3am phone call between Dr Ekpo and Mr Amar-Ojok, the doctor advised the nurse to reposition the patient and check his oxygen levels with another machine, thinking Mr Sadushi had undiagnosed sleep apnoea.

He did not tell the nurse to give Mr Sadushi oxygen.

He said: “Of course I would have expected Mr Amar Ojok to have given him oxygen.”

Dr Ekpo said his advice to Mr Amar-Ojok in the 3am phone call was based on the assumption that Mr Sadushi had received a blood transfusion the day before, and said he was surprised to find out later that he hadn’t.

Courts were considering an extradition application for Mr Sadushi to face charges in Albania at the time of his death.

Mr Sadushi had applied for asylum in the UK, which was refused before he died.

The inquest continues.