Vol. 509 No. 1
87 Mr. Bell asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the steps, if any, he will take to deal with the serious deficiencies in the prison medical service identified in the report of the director of the service and particularly his warning that a situation might arise where it would not be possible to meet statutory or other obligations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19711/99]
The core recommendation of the 1998 annual report of the director of the prison medical service is for an independent review of the structure and organisation of prison health care services. This recommendation was echoed in the recently published report on the prevalence and risk of hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV in Irish prisoners. I have no hesitation in accepting this recommendation and I have asked the director general of the prison service to bring forward proposals for a multidisciplinary review group as a matter of urgency.
In the meantime the director general will continue working with the director of prison medical services to improve the prison medical service. In particular, work is continuing in the recruitment of nurses. Twenty-three nurses have been recruited to date with further recruitment due in November. Discussions are ongoing with the Department of Finance on the recruitment of a pharmacist and a nursing co-ordinator. A multi-disciplinary prison service steering committee is continuing to oversee all aspects of communicable diseases. Research has been completed on the prevalence and risk of hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV in Irish prisoners. This report was published in late August and the recommendations are under consideration in my Department at present. I have approved an action plan on drug misuse and drug treatment in the prison system. The action plan builds on the agreed medical policy between my Department and the Eastern Health Board in that it seeks to provide the same access to treatment for prisoners as patients have within the community.
The comment of the director of prison medical services that a situation may arise in the near future where it would not be possible to meet statutory or other obligations in the medical sphere was made specifically in the context of the impending opening of large new prisons and the relative scarcity of medical professionals. This shortage also causes recruitment difficulties for the prison service. However, every effort will be made to ensure that all prisoners can continue to avail of the required level of health service while in custody.
