Prisons providing ‘sub-standard’ HIV care
Britain’s prisons are failing to provide proper care for prisoners with hepatitis C and HIV, a new study from the Prison Reform Trust (PRT) finds.
The report, carried out in conjunction with National Aids Trust (NAT), reveals that about a third of prisons have no HIV policy, one in five have no hepatitis C policy in place, and more than half have no current sexual health policy.
Despite high levels of HIV and hepatitis among inmates, prisons in Britain are continuing to provide “inconsistent and often sub-standard healthcare”, the study warns.
A total of nine per cent of male and 11 per cent of female prisoners have hepatitis C – more than 20 times the UK rate – and the HIV rate in prison for men is 15 times higher than the rate outside at 0.3 per cent.
The PRT and the NAT are now calling on prison healthcare managers to bring healthcare for HIV and hepatitis C in line with public healthcare provision.
The completion date for the transfer of responsibility of prisoners’ healthcare to the NHS is April 2006 and prisons have pledged to provide an equivalent standard of healthcare as that in the community.
Today’s study reveals that many prisoners do not currently have appropriate access to condoms, disinfecting tablets, clean needles or healthcare information. While there is some evidence of good practice, it finds standards are inconsistent.
“Overcrowding and the constant movement of prisoners between establishments create particularly adverse conditions in our prisons for curbing the spread of HIV and hepatitis and there is an urgent need to develop policy and practice to protect individual and public health,” said Ruth Runciman, NAT chairwoman and deputy and PRT deputy chairwoman.
The report, based on a survey of prison healthcare managers across the UK, reveals that some inmates thought that HIV-positive prisoners would be subject to bullying and discrimination if their status were known.
Deborah Jack, chief executive of the National Aids Trust, commented: “Good prison health is essential for good public health.
“The transfer of prison health to the NHS is a vital opportunity for the government to reduce HIV and hepatitis C transmission in prisons and ensure prisoners have an equal standard of healthcare to that provided to members of the public. These failings need to be addressed as a matter of urgency.”
