NCJ Number
181146
Date Published
July 1999
Length
43 pages
Annotation
This report contains the text of Recommendation No. R (98) 7, adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on April 8, 1998, and the explanatory memorandum thereto; the recommendation addresses the main characteristics of the right to health care in prison, the specific role of the prison doctor and other health care staff, and the practical organization of health care in prison.
Abstract
The recommendation is based in the belief that medical practice in the community and in the prison should be guided by the same ethical principles. This involves the provision to prisoners of preventive treatment and health care equivalent to those provided to the community in general. The main characteristics of the right to health care in prison are presented under the topics of access to a doctor, equivalence of care, patient's consent and confidentiality, and professional independence. Recommendations pertinent to the role of the prison doctor and other health care staff in the prison focus on information, prevention, and education for health; particular forms of pathology and preventive health care in prison; and the professional training of prison health care staff. Recommendations relevant to the organization of health care in prison focus on transmitted diseases, particularly HIV infection and AIDS, tuberculosis, and hepatitis; addiction to drugs, alcohol, and medication (management of pharmacy and distribution of medication); persons unsuited to continued detention (serious physical handicap, advanced age, and short-term fatal prognosis); psychiatric symptoms, mental disturbance, and major personality disorders; refusal of treatment; violence in prison; health care special programs; and body searches, medical reports, and medical research. A commentary on the recommendations is included.