Foreword
T
his manual is addressed to prison health‑care workers and other prison
staf with responsibility for prisoners’ well‑being. It provides practical
information about a range of issues related to psychiatric care, pre‑
vention of the spread of transmissible diseases (such as acquired immuno‑
defciency syndrome, hepatitis and tuberculosis), psychoactive drugs and
the medical management of drug‑addicted prisoners. The text highlights
important ethical standards and suggests responses to ethical dilemmas
related to access to a doctor, equivalence of care, patient’s consent and
confdentiality, preventive health care, humanitarian assistance, professional
independence and competence.
This manual contains good practice from across Europe. The authors have
drawn on the results of a multilateral meeting on medical ethics and health‑
care in prison held in Strasbourg in May 2012. At that meeting, senior ofcials
and professionals responsible for health care in prison from several Council
of Europe member states shared their experiences and discussed ways of
applying in practice Council of Europe standards and the recommendations
of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT).
The manual is conceived as a comprehensive policy guide and a manage‑
ment tool. It will be used as training support in the technical co‑operation
activities of the Council of Europe. Health‑care services for persons deprived
of their liberty are directly relevant to the CPT’s mandate. Inadequate health
care can lead rapidly to situations of inhuman and degrading treatment,
whereas medical and non‑medical staf in prisons with better professional
knowledge and skills mean a healthier and safer environment for prisoners
and prison staf and better protection of the public by reducing the risks of
transfer of health problems from prisons to the community.
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