Human Rights and Prisons - Rethinking Crime and Punishment

the Commission of these complaints therefore does not imply a finding in
relation to the substance of the complaint, but does provide an indication of
the type of issues of concern to prisoners and those acting on their behalf.
Further, there was a rise in the number of health care complaints and
enquiries received by the Commission during 2009.
At a national level, concerns have principally revolved around:
Access to adequate medical treatment – the Human Rights
Commission, Ombudsmen and the Health and Disability Commissioner
continue to receive complaints and enquiries regarding health care
issues. In response, the Ombudsmen‟s Office is undertaking an own
motion investigation in relation to the provision, access and availability
of general prisoner health services.
Dental Care – Prisoners (who are detained for more than one year) are
entitled to the same level of dental care that they accessed in the
community. This means that previous disadvantage is continued into
the prisons. For many prisoners, this means that dental pain is
generally relieved by extractions rather than other remedies (National
Health Committee, 2010). The Ombudsmen‟s Office (2005:58) noted
that dental treatment was subject to delays and was „inadequate‟.
Health Care perceived as punishment or control - The National Health
Committee (2010) raised particular concerns about the use of At-Risk
units. These units are designed for short-stays (eg up to 7 days)
however the Committee heard of prisoners being held for months
including, in one case, a woman being held for 18 months. The
Committee (2010) was particularly concerned about the isolation and
very poor conditions that prisoners faced while in the units. Further,
the Committee (ibid:35) detailed that, in some circumstances, the Units
could be inappropriately used – for behaviour management,
detoxification, „time-out‟ or punishment. Overall, the units were thought
to worsen mental health (a point also made, in the Northern Ireland
context, by Scraton and Moore, 2005).
Prisoner Health Information Management – Following the 2007 naturalcause
death of James Kahu at Wanganui Prison, Coroner Carla Nā
Nagara recommended that health staff should ensure that they review
the entire medical file of the prisoners when considering their treatment
plan. Further, she recommended that Corrections take annual prisoner
health checks, for those serving more than one year, to ensure their
health needs are appropriately identified and met. Finally, on prisoner
transfers, processes should be in place so that a prisoner is still able to
attend medical appointments and testing (Coroner‟s Court, 2008).
Staff training – Given that medical staff are not available at all times,
Corrections staff are regularly placed in situations in which they have to
deal with prisoners who have serious illnesses or who want to selfharm
(Ombudsmen‟s Office, 2005, 2007). Anecdotal evidence
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