Decision Report 201404231

Summary

Mr C complained that the prison health centre had failed to change the dressing on his wound appropriately. In particular, he said his dressing should have been changed every day. In addition, Mr C was unhappy because the doctor did not assess his wound at an appointment and he said that was unreasonable.

We reviewed Mr C's medical record which confirmed that his dressing was changed frequently and his wound was assessed on a regular basis. We also took independent advice from one of our GP advisers, who advised that the decision on how to manage a patient's wound was determined by on-going clinical assessment and Mr C's wound was assessed as regular intervals. Our adviser also explained that nursing staff were responsible for the care and management of wounds. They said a doctor would be asked to prescribe an antibiotic if nursing staff felt the wound had become infected. In Mr C's case, his medical record confirmed a nurse had noted that his wound had become malodourous (offensive smelling) with increased swelling and because of that, Mr C was referred to the doctor who prescribed an antibiotic.

In light of the information available, and our adviser's view which we accepted, we were satisfied the prison health centre changed Mr C's dressing regularly which was appropriate. We were also satisfied that the doctor did not have to assess Mr C's wound at the appointment given a nurse had already done so. Therefore, we did not uphold the complaints.