Lleida prison doctor suspended for medical negligence

The Institut Català de la Salut (ICS) has suspended a doctor at the Ponent Penitentiary Center in Lleida for four years and three months following several incidents of alleged medical negligence during 2024 and 2025.

The disciplinary proceedings cite a “passive attitude and lack of effective medical intervention” during multiple emergencies. In one instance in April 2024, the doctor allegedly failed to provide an adequate assessment during simultaneous emergencies, leaving a nurse to make clinical decisions. In a second incident in May 2025, a prisoner suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest; the ICS claims the doctor failed to immediately initiate cardiopulmonary resuscitation or activate the emergency medical system (SEM).

A third incident involved a suspected intoxication where the doctor allegedly failed to complete a proper assessment. The physician has appealed the sanction through administrative litigation, but the Tribunal Superior de Justícia de Catalunya (TSJC) has denied a request to suspend the penalty while the main judicial proceedings are resolved.