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Case ref:201508083
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Date:December 2016
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Body:Lothian NHS Board
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Sector:Health
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Outcome:Upheld, recommendations
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Subject:policy / administration
Summary
Mr C complained that the prison health centre unreasonably opened mail that was addressed to him.
The board were unable to identify who opened Mr C's mail, but they acknowledged that it appeared to have arrived at the health centre unopened. They accepted that the item should not have been opened by staff and that an apology should have been issued to Mr C as soon as it was identified that it had been opened in error. We therefore upheld Mr C's complaint.
Recommendations
We recommended that the board:
- issue appropriate staff guidance on the handling of prisoner mail by healthcare staff.