Prisoner wrongly believed that he had experienced significant delays in dental care when a trust handled his complaint poorly

What happened

Mr V complained to the Trust that provided primary health care at the prison about delayed dental care. Rather than referring the complaint to the dental provider to address, the Trust responded to the complaint. Its complaint response was inaccurate, which led Mr V to believe that he had not been seen by a dentist when he should have been.

Mr V complained that the Trust had not responded to his complaint properly and that he had felt ignored and aggrieved.

What we found

The Trust could not show that it had co–ordinated a response to the complaint with the prison's dental provider (the NHS body responsible for handling the complaint under the NHS complaints regulations). The Trust's response was inaccurate and not evidence–based. Its complaint investigations and outcomes were not well documented or stored.

While there were no failings on the dental provider's part, the Trust's poor complaint handling led Mr V to think otherwise.

He experienced distress and a sense of powerlessness as a result.

Putting it right

The Trust accepted it should not have responded to the complaint and that it had handled the complaint poorly. It agreed to apologise to Mr V and pay him £300. The Trust also agreed to review the way that it handles complaints.