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Case ref:201507736
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Date:July 2016
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Body:Scottish Prison Service
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Sector:Prisons
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Outcome:Upheld, recommendations
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Subject:access to medical care/treatment
Summary
Mr C complained to the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) about the time it took prison staff to escort him to the health centre located within the prison. Mr C, who has diabetes, was unhappy it took two hours to receive assistance with his insulin pen. He also felt the SPS's response to his complaint was inappropriate.
We were unable to clearly determine why it took two hours for Mr C to be escorted to the health centre. We took independent advice from a nursing adviser who found that the delay of two hours was an unreasonable length of time for a person having treatment for insulin dependent diabetes to wait. We considered that appropriate action was subsequently taken when Mr C transferred to another prison where he was reviewed by a diabetic nurse specialist and a clear system to manage his insulin pen was put in place.
We also found that there was a failure by the prison to properly investigate and respond to Mr C's concerns. They had acknowledged that there should have been a more thorough investigation into his complaint and that their responses should have been more detailed.
Recommendations
We recommended that SPS:
- draw the failings we identified to the attention of relevant staff at the prison; and
- apologise to Mr C for not responding adequately to his complaint.