Decision Report 201305146

Summary

Mr C, who is a prisoner, complained that the prison inappropriately acted outwith the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) risk management and progression guidance by recommending that he should be assessed by a psychologist. Mr C told us that the guidance says that it was only the prison's risk management team (RMT) who could make that decision and he said he had not been referred to the RMT for some time. Our investigation found that the guidance confirmed that all referrals for a psychological risk assessment must be actioned by the RMT only. We obtained a copy of Mr C's referral form, and this confirmed that the RMT discussed and agreed the recommendation that Mr C should undergo an assessment.

Mr C also said that, after he complained, the prison's internal complaints committee (ICC) recommended that he meet with someone from the psychology department to discuss the assessment, but the prison failed to action that recommendation. The prison told us, however, that after Mr C complained, the consultant psychiatrist who was going to carry out the assessment wrote to him to explain things a little further. After that, Mr C had confirmed he was happy to be assessed.

We did not uphold Mr C's complaints.