Decision report 201104677

Summary

Mr C complained that a medical practice would not issue prescriptions that he considered were appropriate to accommodate his individual circumstances. Mr C wished, as standard, to receive 56 day prescriptions (not the 28 day prescriptions the practice issued to him), for a long standing medical condition. Mr C had only recently moved to the practice. He also complained that the practice did not deal with his complaint appropriately.

We took independent advice from our medical adviser. After careful consideration of the advice and taking into account that the practice had made Mr C a reasonable offer to try to suit his personal circumstances, we did not uphold the complaint. We also considered that the practice had appropriately addressed Mr C’s complaint in good time. They had not, however, advised him of his right to bring his complaint to us if he wished to do so, which they are required to do. We upheld this aspect of his complaint.

Recommendations

We recommended that the practice:

• ensure that, in any complaint response, SPSO details are included to provide a complainant with the opportunity to contact us if they wish to do so.