Decision Report 201603113

Summary

Mr C complained about the prison health centre's decision not to prescribe him sleeping medication that he had previously been prescribed by his community GP.

The information available confirmed that the prison health centre had checked the medications prescribed to Mr C by his community GP. This confirmed that he had been given a two-week supply of the sleeping medication to take as needed.

We took independent clinical advice. The adviser noted that the sleeping medication should only be prescribed for short periods and long-term use was to be avoided. They also noted that Mr C had been prescribed an appropriate detox whilst in prison and that because of this, the decision to not prescribe the sleeping medication was reasonable. Our adviser also confirmed that Mr C was being prescribed appropriate medications for the symptoms he had reported. We did not uphold Mr C's complaint.