BMJ 2008;336:471 (1 March), doi:10.1136/bmj.39499.651933.DB
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Healthcare for prisoners is compromised by use of temporary cells
Oona Mashta
1 London
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
Public and prisoner safety is being jeopardised by the Government’s "inhumane, expensive and overstretched" use of temporary prison accommodation in England and Wales, the British Medical Association says.
Forensic doctors who staff cells at police stations and courts often lack the resources to deal with drug and mental health issues, doctors’ leaders insist.
Yet the number of inmates being held after sentencing in such accommodation has more than trebled over the past month from 65 to 408, latest figures from the Ministry of Justice show.
Nor are these cells a cheap option, the BMA says. Holding a prisoner in a police cell costs the taxpayer an estimated £385 (
510, $750) per night, and detaining them in a court cell is about £300 a night, government ministers confirmed in a parliamentary answer. The cost of holding a prisoner in a regular prison cell is £66 a day, figures from a
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