Abstract
BackgroundAn industrial dispute between prison doctors and the Irish Prison Service (IPS) took place in 2004. Part of the resolution of that dispute was that an independent review of prison medical and support services be carried out by a University Department of Primary Care. The review took place in 2008 and we report here on the principal findings of that review.MethodsThis study utilised a mixed methods approach. An independent expert medical evaluator (one of the authors, DT) inspected the medical facilities, equipment and relevant custodial areas in eleven of the fourteen prisons within the IPS. Semistructured interviews took place with personnel who had operational responsibility for delivery of prison medical care. Prison doctors completed a questionnaire to elicit issues such as allocation of clinician's time, nurse and administrative support and resources available.ResultsThere was wide variation in the standard of medical facilities and infrastructure provided across the IPS. The range of medical equipment available was generally below that of the equivalent general practice scheme in the community. There is inequality within the system with regard to the ratio of doctor-contracted time relative to the size of the prison population. There is limited administrative support, with the majority of prisons not having a medical secretary. There are few psychiatric or counselling sessions available.ConclusionsPeople in prison have a wide range of medical care needs and there is evidence to suggest that these needs are being met inconsistently in Irish prisons.
Highlights
An industrial dispute between prison doctors and the Irish Prison Service (IPS) took place in 2004
State of premises The medical unit infrastructure provided up until recently in the majority of Irish prisons dated from the mid-nineteenth century
Equipment Based on the national survey the “Structure of General Practice in Ireland 1982-2005” [17] the availability of standard diagnostic equipment in Irish prisons generally falls below that available in Irish general practice (Table 2)
Summary
An industrial dispute between prison doctors and the Irish Prison Service (IPS) took place in 2004. Part of the resolution of that dispute was that an independent review of prison medical and support services be carried out by a University Department of Primary Care. The use of primary health care in the prison population is considerable compared with the general community [1]. Prisoners are more preoccupied with their health than the general population [3,4]. Relative to the general population, prison inmates experience poorer physical, mental and social health, including both acute and long standing physical and mental illness and disability, drug, alcohol and tobacco dependency, sexual health problems, suicide, self -harm, physical, psychological and sexual violence, lower life expectancy and breakdowns in family and other relationships [5,6,7,8]. There are fourteen prisons across the Republic of Ireland, catering
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
