Decision Report 201603637

Summary

Mr C complained about the care and treatment he received from the board in relation to his mental health whilst he was in prison. We took independent advice on the complaint from a consultant psychiatrist. We found that the care and treatment provided to Mr C had been reasonable. He had received mental health nursing reviews, a full psychiatric assessment and had also seen a number of other healthcare staff. The management of his medication had also been reasonable. Whilst there had been a delay in arranging for Mr C to see a psychiatrist, we found that this was not unreasonable. He saw other healthcare staff during this period and they discussed his care with the psychiatrist and put interim measures in place. We did not uphold this aspect of Mr C's complaint.

Mr C also complained that staff in the prison health centre failed to provide appropriate treatment in relation to his cellulitis (an infection of the deeper layers of skin and the underlying tissue). We took independent advice on this aspect of his complaint from a GP adviser. There was no evidence in Mr C's medical records that he had cellulitis, although the records showed that he had been treated for scabies. We found that the care and medication provided by the board in relation to scabies had been reasonable and we did not uphold this complaint.

Finally, Mr C complained that the board had failed to respond appropriately to his complaints. We found that Mr C had made a large number of complaints. Whilst there had been some delays by the board in responding to these complaints, these delays had not been unreasonable. We considered that the board had issued a reasonable response to the issues Mr C had raised and did not uphold this aspect of the complaint.