Decision Report 201303633

Summary

Mr C, who is a prisoner, wanted his prescription increased due to extreme pain in his knee, and lower back pain. After the consultation, he complained about the medical treatment he received, and was unhappy with the way he had been treated and spoken to by the GP.

We took all the available information into account, including Mr C's relevant clinical records and the complaints correspondence. We also obtained independent advice on Mr C's care and treatment from one of our medical advisers.

We did not uphold the complaint, as our investigation found no specific shortcomings in the way that the GP dealt with Mr C. We were also satisfied that, based on his medical records, Mr C had access to different GPs and was referred for further investigation as well as for a specialist physiotherapy review. Our adviser said that the examination and medication dosage were reasonable, and that the GP had taken Mr C's individual needs into account. However, we were concerned that there was no evidence that the GP spoke to Mr C to exclude any potentially serious cause for his back pain, and we made a recommendation about this.

Recommendations

We recommended that the board:

• draw to the attention of the GP involved our adviser's comments on excluding potentially serious causes for back pain.