Prisoners at various correctional facilities across the country will continue to access standardised healthcare services despite their limitations and constant entry into society.
This was pointed out by the Director of Prisons, Nicklon Elliot, as he noted that the provision of healthcare services for prisoners is the state’s responsibility.
Elliot was at the time meeting with medical staff from the various prison locations last Friday at the prison headquarters on Brickdam.
According to a press release from the Guyana Prison Service (GPS), the director said prisoners should enjoy the same standards of healthcare treatment that are available outside the prisons and in the wider community without being discriminated.
“Health personnel, particularly physicians, charged with the medical care of prisoners and detainees have a duty to provide them with the protection of their physical and mental health and treatment of disease of the same quality and standard as is afforded to those who are not imprisoned or detained,” Elliot stressed.
Meeting to implement a more medically holistic approach for prisoners, he noted that these services will remain free of cost to the inmates and will be made available at any necessary time.
The director further stated that prisoners must access excellent healthcare treatment while in correctional facilities since it will help to preserve their overall well-being so that they can embark on a new and healthy journey when they are ready to be released and
Elliot underscored that the GPS is currently undergoing a substantial transformation, which is beyond the construction of new correctional facilities, but comprises a fundamental shift in the approach to how inmates are managed and treated.
Furthermore, the prison head stated that with the massive infrastructural development that is ongoing within the service, better working conditions are anticipated, especially for the healthcare services of prisoners.
