The Health and Sanitary Conditions Within Womans Prisons in the United Kingdom - Essay Example

Order 119626 The health and sanitary conditions within woman's prisons (United Kingdom) not mental health Need is something that can be defined by the health care needs assessment as "The individual or population's ability to benefit from health care". This explains that need for health care arises only when an individual has problems related to his/her health, or living on the possibility of developing a health problem. And therefore there is an effective solution to this problem of health. But generally the interference of health care does not just relate to treatment. They also comprise of other aspects related to health like prevention, diagnosis, continuing care, rehabilitation and palliative care. (Toolkit for health care needs assessment in prisons) A committee known as Friends World Committee for Consultation have been taking up the issue of criminal justice and caring about the conditions that prevail in the prison for the last 350 years of their existence in UK. This committee feels that particularly there is need to give importance to women and girls particularly female juveniles under the age group of 18 years, in the prison during their imprisonment period following trial. Also there added concern is also includes their stay in hostels or similar places like the prison or about the general health care conditions of the babies and children of imprisoned women when both the child as well as the mother are inside the prison. (Women in Prison and Children of Imprisoned Mothers Preliminary Research Paper) The reason for the emergence of such committees is to understand and make the issue of the conditions of women and girl prisoners inside the prison, and also to collect information and ideas to resolve the issues and analyze them better. It is generally felt that though both men and women are subjected to imprisonment, there has been little consideration about the care and various needs of the imprisoned women. This way of omitting the care taken on women prisoners could be due to the strength of the women prisoners that is the number of women prisoners are much lesser in number when compared to men. (Women in Prison and Children of Imprisoned Mothers Preliminary Research Paper) Studies say that in the overall prison population the women prisoners make up only four percent. Even these small numbers of women prisoners could create problems among themselves or either when they are imprisoned along with men prisoners. The number of women prisons are also very less in number and which means that women are held further from their homes, resulting in added problems in maintaining domestic and community relationships, and often more sever as according to their offence. Since the total numbers of women prisoners are less in the available women's prisons, it still more marks the detention facilities for juvenile females. This could even be the reason where in some countries there are no availabilities of separate women prisons for young female offenders and thus they are imprisoned and put in same cells along with male adults. Due to this reason of lesser number of juvenile females in prison, it results in young girls those in 16 years or even below who are imprisoned to be treated as adults in this context. Even though the population of women in the prison was less the rate was increasing gradually. The changes made in the sentencing policies and also law enforcement had an impact on the severity of crime in which women are involved, and also has an impact on the women prisoners. Due to the gradual increase in the strength of women prisoners it reaches a stage of overcrowding which in turn leads to lack of exercise facilities or the time that the women spend out of their cells. When overcrowding occurs in the prison the most affected are the women prisoners, as a result of which they do not get the facilities of rehabilitative programmes, education, vocational counseling and also drug and alcohol dependency programmes. (Women in Prison and Children of Imprisoned Mothers Preliminary Research Paper) The women are generally given low priority for such programs due to overcrowding, and there may also be some discriminations or failure to adapt to such programmes to take care of the needs of women. Because of such lack of facilities it may have significant impact on the women prisoners who would like to reunite into the society. This needs to be viewed in the context of a general socio-economic profile of the women prisoners primarily being from the indigent end of the social spectrum with very little education. There are standards of medical care within prisons which vary enormously from prison to prison. The women prisoners fall prey to poor physical and mental health with severity exceeding those of male prisoners or of women in the prisons some of which may relate to the reasons for their imprisonment, for instance may be imprisonment for drug use. The other factors that prevail as a cause for the ill health of women prisoners are sexual abuse and exploitation of women during imprisonment thus relating to gynaecological problems, other sexual diseases like HIV, and pregnancy or abortion. There are also diseases and infections that occur to the prisoners due to overcrowding, and also which results in poor health and hygienic conditions. This may also be the factors that affect the women prisoners psychologically thus resulting in mental problems. Thus there is a necessity of health care facilities that ought to be provided to the prisoners. Even taking the prisoners in prison clothing or in handcuffs to public places like hospitals may also result in mental health in the prisoners. Female prisoners also have a problem when, due to shortage of prison staffs, male staffs accompany them to hospitals and stay with them during private medical consultations. Thus the extent of health problems among the women prisoners are to a great extent predominant. (Women in Prison and Children of Imprisoned Mothers Preliminary Research Paper) It is that all humans have the right to life and in which particularly prison health is a key human rights issue. This is because prison conditions often bring danger to life within or outside the prison. It is a part of duty of the government to take adequate care of the prisoners and an immense care on the health of the prisoners which is in par with the standard of health care provided to the society in general. Prison comprises of members of the most marginalised group in the society that is people with poor health and chronic untreated conditions, psychological problems that are susceptible to danger and those who have the habit of injecting drugs. Mostly women prisoners are susceptible to such dangers due to the disproportionate numbers from backgrounds of violence and abuse. Health conditions for the prisoners should be in such a way that the prisoners are treated in civilian hospitals and that pregnant women should always go outside hospitals to have their babies. (Improving Prison Health Care) Women are mostly different from men in a way where education is concerned, that is women are marginally better educated than men particularly in cases of drug addiction which leads to imprisonment. There should be education and training in the prisons for women prisoners about drug rehabilitation. In particular there are Irish female prisoners, who form a small fraction of the total population in the prison as a special minority group. The imprisonment of these women prisoners often takes them out of a caring role and so may affect the other people as well. There are limited number of prisons for this tiny minority of women offenders which makes it very difficult for these women to maintain contact with their family and relatives. (Health care study of Irish Prison Population) Even though women prisoners form a small minority in almost all prisons but still it is these women prisoners who are affected the most and face problems that are more than men. The profile and the other needs, like sanitary needs, are totally different for women prisoners than that of men. The smaller the number of prisoners the farer they get from their home. The women prisoners are unable to contact their families and are often shifted from one building to another which has very little facilities. The women prisoners are usually kept in a state of low security risk and have to be placed in a level of higher security higher than is required. Within the prison women experience a lot of violence and abuse and even though the international human rights instruments need women to be placed separately in cells from men and should be supervised by women officials, the sexual abuse, harassment and humiliation are common and still continue. As a health and sanitary aspect the prisoners need policies that help to care pregnant prisoners and the babies who live with the mother in the prison. A better health care for women in prisons is needed with more protection and relevant training programs to educate the prisoners in aspects of drug and other aspects that affect their health. Because the women prisoners are small in number they are often neglected and cornered by the prison administration. They are often made to live in unsuitable buildings with very little space for exercises and other normal activities. (Reforming Women's Prisons) In cases where there are separate prisons for women, then the overcrowding is comparatively less in women prisons than in men's prisons. There are women prisons which are provided with a clean and more attractive environment, and with near dormitories. The bed's are embroidered and lined and walls are decorated and they are allowed to put their family photographs on the wall. But even though all these are present they also suffer from the abuses and ill-treatment that is usually found in prisons all over the world. An example is there was an occurrence in a prison where there were about 70 armed policemen who stormed into a women's prison with masks, carrying batons, shields and guns, physically harassed the women prisoners there. The reason for such a search was that they suspected that the women prisoners were having hidden drugs with them. One of the inmate stated that "I was forced to take all my clothes off and then bend over to a fellow prisoner while the officers examined me intimately to see if I had hidden drugs on me. As far as I know there was no reason for them to even suspect this" (Reforming Women's Prisons) It is in Britain that imprisonment of women is greater than in any other country in the European Union, other than Portugal and Spain, and the number continues to ascend. There are about 11,000 women who as imprisoned in this year and about 20% of whom are still on remand. In the past year there was a 23% increase in the size of the population in female prisons, and there was a 180% percent rise in the past decade. (No one leaves this place with her sanity intact) Due to overcrowding in Britain two women jails had to be converted into men prisons in an attempt to counteract the overcrowding which threatens to plunge Britain's penal system into its greatest crisis in a decade. Every weekend there was an increase of above 75,000 for the first time and the home office was prepared to ship hundreds of women from Winchester in Hampshire and Edmunds Hill in Suffolk to few other packed jails in the country. The prisoners were split and shifted to two different places that is those in Winchester were sent to Surrey, Gloucestershire and those at Edmunds Hill were sent to Essex and Kent. This idea of shifted the women prisoners was accused by some of the reformers. A home office spokeswoman said that the move was possible due to the women prisoner's population being leveled off when compared to male population. There are now 4,569 female prisoners in England, and double the amount number of decades ago, even when the figure had been more than 4,000 for the past two years. (Women Prisoners Moved to Tackle Packed Jails Crisis) There are a total of 17 women prisons in England. They are grouped as closed, open or semi-open. Young female offenders are kept in dedicated young offenders units. Currently in England there are about 5 such juvenile units built for the purpose of the young female offenders, and there are about 7 mother and baby units and one which is used as an intermediate custody unit. In England over the decade there has been a drastic rise in the number of women prisoners and women prisons have increased in numbers of an average of 1560 in 1993 to about 4248 in January 2006. There was a high number of 4672 reached in the month of May in the year 2004. In spite of this increase, women prisoners contribute to about 5.6% in the total number of prisoner population, which are about 75,030 in England and Wales. (Female Prisoners) But the life in prison for women is the same as that of men there has not been any differences with respect to giving special care. The women as offended more badly than men during there imprisonment. But with respect to health care there are specialist medical services provided for the women which are the same as those outside the prison, which includes breast and cervical screening, family planning and sexual health services. These are in high demand for these services as the prisoners often neglect their health while they are imprisoned. Another high demand service is that for drug and mental health. Every woman prisoner who is pregnant will be having a constant medical assessment and monitoring, just as it would be when they are with the community. They are located in special units dedicated for pregnant women. Support will be provided both to the mother and child with respect to health care according to their individual needs. Medical care would be rendered to the prisoners by the local NHS maternity services and mothers give birth in a hospital which is close to the prison and with the required facilities. (Female Prisoners) To a certain extent there are few facilities for women prisoners such as they are allowed to wear their own clothes when they are in the prison and most of the women prisoners do so. If the prisoner is unable to wear their own clothes then the prison will provide clothes for them and will be replaced when they are no longer fit for wear. There are few other facilities like clean beds, aired and those which are in reasonably good condition are provided to the women prisoners, which are good enough to keep them warm and healthy. All the mattresses and beds would be aired for at least one hour a week. There should be an availability of the prisoners to have a hot bath or shower at least once a week. The prisoners would be provided with toiletries, including feminine hygiene products. This depends on the prison that they are kept in. Every day the prisoners should be able to spend at least an hour or half outside their cell to inhale some fresh air. (Health Care) However, there may be reasons like weather conditions when the prison authorities do not allow the prisoners to go out. These facilities are applicable to almost all prisoners even if they are on Rule 45 or on the Escape List, though if they are in this list they will be able to use these facilities alone. But the time available will vary from prison to prison, and the type of exercises that the prisoners take every day depends upon there own wish liking some gentle exercises or walking every day. There are many prisons where physical education -- PE or other activities of exercise are provided to the women prisoners at regular periods. In cases of open prisons they do not get separate time allotted to exercise but there is always room for free walking and it will be an advantage when compare to those in closed prisons. While the women are in prison, there health will be taken care of by the Health Care Service which aims to give the prisoners access to a similar quality and range of health care as those given to the general public from the National Health Service - NHS. The prison will pay for all the treatment given to the prisoners which are arranged by the prison doctors. If the doctor's consultation is needed for any prisoner then they should inform the wing staff. Then after consultation if there is a different arrangement of prison needed then it would be informed to the prisoner and they would be shifted. For large prisons there are medical officers who work on a full-time basis for the Health Care Service of the prisoners. In other prisons health care and medical treatment is given by the local family doctors, who work part-time in the prison. (Health Care) Even the nursing staff inside the prison will be able to resolve many of the prisoner's problems without the intervention of a doctor, but if the prisoner feels they should consult a doctor then they could be arranged for consultation. It is left to the sole discretion of the women prisoners to decide whether they should go ahead with the treatment or not just like outside prison. When any problem cannot be solved in the current prison then the prisoners will be moved to another prison where different other facilities are available. Specialist if needed will be called for treating the prisoners who are facing acute medical problems or they will be taken out with the custody of police authorities of the Prison Service to outside NHS hospitals. Unless the prisoner is on remand they are not entitled for a second opinion. But if the specialist doctor thinks that your request for a second opinion is reasonable then they will arrange for a second opinion from another specialist. Due to the reasons when many prisoners do not come to terms with prison, life healthcare work can often prove to be demanding, however for challenged workers it would be incredibly rewarding. The majority of health care work is primary care, but sometimes they may have to take special care in certain prisoners'. They health care authorities in the prison will also have to take care of the management of communicable diseases, mental health and so on. The prison health care workers in addition to clinical skills are to draw upon custodial and people skills and they should have a positive relationship with the prisoners. They should understand the pressure that is faced by the prisoners. It is a challenging work to the health care authorities to deliver a high quality healthcare within the context of a custodial environment, and where they will also have to maintain security and control on both men and women prisoners. The health care provided to prisoners often has a far reaching impact on avoiding re-offending (Health Care) The NHS takes its opportunity to enhance the health care in prisons, with the challenge of acquiring health promotion for the most deprived members of the society. The NHS will have its special impact on the betterment of the mothers and babies and thus a positive effect on the general health of the prisoners where need is more intense. For women, pregnancy is a life transition and when she needs a lot of emotional maturation during this period. During this times when they are in prison they have to be utmost care and not to undergo any kind of sexual abuse or any other forms of violence. But this sometimes happens in few prisons. The literacy rate is very low and they tend to use drugs when women are in prison. (Pregnant Prisoners) The NHS in the prison has provided them with midwives who face the challenge of shepherding them all through a women's pregnancy period and also after birth. But the services are unable to provide a one-to-one midwifery for all women. There should be a continued vital care rendered to the prisoners during pregnancy and after birth. There was an occurrence when a woman delivered a baby and committed suicide, here it could be seen that there was a failure of continuity in care. This is because the woman prisoners need a friend like person inside the prison to understand and listen to their anxieties and fears. They should be supported which would keep them healthy and self-confident. All the health authorities will be able to provide a good outcome for these women who have been battered by life. Most of them are incarcerated for non-violent offence and few others are on remand. The prison officers have to be on a day-to-day contact with all the woman prisoners especially those who are pregnant and with a new born child. There are cases when the women prisoners are shackled, which would disturb them and put them into unhealthy conditions. The rule that when any medical treatment begins they should not be shackled and this should be followed. The NHS workers inside the prison should give the same amount and quality of care that are given to women in the community. It is a very easy task for the NHS staff to take charge from the prison officers. The staffs have to be confident, out going, and should render their full focus on the needs of the women prisoners both physically and psychologically. (Pregnant Prisoners) Thus the conditions experience by the woman prisoners vary across the world from country to country. In many developing countries prisoners are asked to pay for there own basic needs like food, bedding, etc. The prisoners would then be put into a position of relying on their families to pay for such things. This may not be possible for some prisoners in Britain whose families are very far off and those who cannot pay to such costs. Hence both the prisoner's physical and psychological care should be taken care of by the health care authorities. In UK women represent 6% prison population. There has been a huge increase in the number of women prisoners and there are half of the prisoners from Jamaica to be imprisoned in the prisons in Britain. (Prisoners Abroad) When women are imprisoned in places miles away from home, they face a number of concerning issues. There are cases where the children also go with their mothers to prison in countries like Bolivia, and therefore increasing the strength of the prison, the noise unbearable and thus increasing the need for health and sanitary care inside the prisons. Though the women prisoners are take care well, there are places where the provisions for accomplishing the needs of pregnant women are very poor. Because of serious inadequate medical facilities and poor attention it leads to sickness. Many woman prisoners suffer physically due to poor health conditions due to there immense stress both physically and mentally when they are inside the prison. (Prisoners Abroad) References Bright, Martin. 2004. Women prisoners moved to tackle packed jails crisis. The Observer. 14 March. Accessed 6 April, 2006 from the World Wide Web: http://society.guardian.co.uk/crimeandpunishment/story/0,8150,1169619,00.html Female Prisoners. Accessed 6 April, 2006 from the World Wide Web: http://www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/adviceandsupport/prison_life/femaleprisoners/ Health Care. Accessed 6 April, 2006 from the World Wide Web: http://www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/careersandjobs/typeswork/healthcare/ Health care study of Irish prison population. Accessed 6 April, 2006 from the World Wide Web: http://www.hipp-europe.org/resources/internal/irish-prisons/0080.htm Improving prison health care. Accessed 6 April, 2006 from the World Wide Web: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/rel/icps/gn10-improving-health-care.pdf Kitzinger, Shelia. Pregnant Prisoners. NHS Magazine. Accessed 6 April, 2006 from the World Wide Web: http://www.nhs.uk/nhsmagazine/archive/nov04/opinion.asp Marshall, Tom; Simpson, Sue; Stevens, Andrew. 2000. Toolkit for health care needs assessment in prisons. Department of Public Health & Epidemiology: University of Birmingham. February. Accessed 6 April, 2006 from the World Wide Web: http://www.ciap.health.nsw.gov.au/guidelines/pdf/inmate_toolkit.pdf No one leaves this place with her sanity intact. 2002. The Observer. 1 December. Accessed 6 April, 2006 from the World Wide Web: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/focus/story/0,6903,851350,00.html Prisoners Abroad. Accessed 6 April, 2006 from the World Wide Web: http://www.prisonersabroad.org.uk/issues.html Reforming Women's Prisons. Accessed 6 April, 2006 from the World Wide Web: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/rel/icps/gn-13-womens-prisons.pdf Taylor, Rachel. 2004. Women in Prison and children of imprisoned mothers. Preliminary Research Paper. July. Accessed 6 April, 2006 from the World Wide Web: http://www.quno.org/geneva/pdf/Women_in_prison_Preliminary.pdf Read More