NHS ignoring prisoners' health needs, says report

doi:10.1136/bmj.322.7293.1014/c

BMJ 2001;322:1014 ( 28 April )

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NHS ignoring prisoners' health needs, says report

Zosia Kmietowicz London

The health needs of prisoners are being ignored, says a report criticising the NHS for missing an important opportunity to tackle problems of addiction among prisoners and prevent reoffending.

Working conditions in prison medicine are so poor that experienced doctors and nurses are leaving the service in droves, said the BMA's report Prison Medicine: a Crisis Waiting to Break. Of those who are left, many feel powerless to help prisoners because their clinical judgment is undermined, often by prison governors who do not recognise the need for intervention. When they do try to access NHS hospitals and secondary services, prison doctors are often met with opposition because of a reluctance to admit prisoners.

A 1996 study showed that more than 60% of unconvicted male prisoners had mental health problems, but doctors found it extremely difficult to access psychiatric nurses, occupational health workers, substance . . . [Full text of this article]

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Relevant Article

Point prevalence of mental disorder in unconvicted male prisoners in England and Wales: Deborah Brooke, Caecilia Taylor, John Gunn, and Anthony Maden
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