3. Healthcare in prison
Prisoners get the same healthcare and treatment as anyone outside of prison.
Treatment is free but has to be approved by a prison doctor or member of the healthcare team.
Prisons don’t have hospitals, but many have in-patient beds.
Most problems are dealt with by the healthcare team. If they can’t, the prison may:
get an expert to visit the prison
arrange for treatment in an outside hospital
The healthcare team can ask the prisoner’s family doctor for their records, but only if the prisoner agrees to it.
Special help and support
Prisoners can get specialist support - eg if they:
have drug or alcohol problems
have HIV or AIDS
are disabled or have a learning difficulty
Refusing medical treatment
A prisoner can refuse treatment. However, the healthcare team may choose to give treatment if the prisoner isn’t capable of making decisions themselves (eg they have a mental health condition).
Wherever possible, the healthcare team will discuss this with the prisoner’s family first.