Decision Report 201507727

Summary

Mr C complained that the board delayed in giving him his cardiac medication after he was admitted to prison. Mr C had a heart attack two days later and required surgical treatment. He was unhappy that the board withheld the medication he had in his possession at the time of admission to prison.

The board accepted that it had taken 24 hours longer than it should have done to verify and prescribe Mr C's medication. They apologised to Mr C and advised him of the steps they had taken as a result of the incident to reduce the likelihood of it recurring.

We took independent advice from one of our GP advisers and found that it was appropriate for the board to confirm Mr C's prescribed medication in line with General Medical Council guidance. However, we were critical that there was an unreasonable delay in this being done, although it was unlikely to have caused Mr C's heart attack.

Whilst we upheld the complaint, we made no recommendations as the board had taken reasonable action as a result of the incident to identify learning and improve their practice to ensure the matter would not recur.