Decision Report 201305580

Summary

Mr C complained that he was not properly assessed by his prison health centre after he submitted an emergency nurse triage form saying that he was unfit to work because he was suffering from leg cramps, a black toe and being unable to sleep. A meeting was held with Mr C to discuss his concerns and the board told him that there was no record of the health centre having received a triage form from him on the date in question. However, they said he had submitted a triage form (assessment form) four days before the date he referred to in his complaint and was seen by a nurse who assessed him and then arranged a consultation with the doctor at Mr C's request. The board concluded that the clinical team had dealt with Mr C appropriately.

We could not find clear evidence that Mr C submitted a triage form on the date he said he did. However, we noted that he had done so four days before, for the same problems, and that the triage nurse did not consider that he was unfit for work at that time. We considered it unlikely that the problems he raised would have prevented him from working then. The nurse should have documented her judgement that Mr C was fit for work and we drew this to the board's attention. They confirmed they would take steps to highlight to staff the importance of accurate record-keeping. We did not, however, consider this to be a significant failing and we were satisfied that the board were taking reasonable action to ensure the matter does not happen again. We concluded that Mr C was reasonably assessed.