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Case ref:201304704
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Date:May 2014
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Body:Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board
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Sector:Health
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Outcome:Not upheld, no recommendations
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Subject:clinical treatment / diagnosis
Summary
Mr C, who is a prisoner, complained that the prison health centre would not prescribe the pain relief medication that he was receiving before he went to prison, and that the medication they did prescribe was inadequate.
We explained to Mr C that medication decisions by prison health centres will not automatically be the same as such decisions in the past. For example, some medications are not considered appropriate for use in prison because of their particular potential for abuse in a prison setting. It is for the prison health centre to carry out their own assessment of the individual and decide what, if any, medication or other treatment would be appropriate.
In Mr C's case, we looked at the board's policy on prescribing pain relief in prisons, and at Mr C's medical records. We found that he had had an appropriate assessment. We also took independent advice from one of our medical advisers, who said that the decision about what action to take had been medically appropriate, including the reasons for the medication that was prescribed for Mr C. We did not, therefore, uphold his complaint.