Decision Report 201301663

Summary

Mr C, who is a prisoner, complained that the prison health centre unreasonably stopped his pain medication. When his need for the medication was reviewed, the prison doctor decided it was no longer necessary and offered an alternative.

We reviewed Mr C's clinical records and took independent advice from one of our medical advisers. She said that Mr C was being prescribed a strong pain killer, which was suitable for use at the time of an injury or flare-up of a condition. However, it was not suitable to continue to use it without a review to decide whether it was still appropriate. In Mr C's case, it had been reviewed and deemed no longer appropriate, and although Mr C was unhappy with this, we were satisfied that his clinical treatment was reasonable.