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Prison health report upsets Labour

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Fri, 17 Feb 2012 1:48p.m.

Transgender prisoners with health problems were 'unreasonably' kept in male prisons

Transgender prisoners with health problems were 'unreasonably' kept in male prisons

The Labour Party says damning report on healthcare in prisons amounts to evidence of human rights abuse.

The Ombudsman's report praises medical staff but says they have limited resources, outdated equipment and unsuitable facilities.

Its investigation found:

* Mental healthcare was inadequate or unsuitable.

* Dental services were inadequate.

* Transgender prisoners with health problems were "unreasonably" kept in male prisons.

* Increasing prisoner numbers was seriously stretching health funding.

"The failure of authorities to provide appropriate and adequate health services to prisoners is both a human rights abuse and a dereliction of duty," says Labour's justice spokesman Charles Chauvel.

Health spokeswoman Maryan Street says issues raised in the report can't become "just another problem in the too-hard basket".

Maori Party MP Te Ururoa Flavell said its findings made for disturbing reading, especially in the provision of mental healthcare.

"The report has identified that there are deficiencies in the way that healthcare is provided to these prisoners, and yet the incidence of mental health and drug and alcohol problems is much higher than for the wider community."

The government is considering the report.

NZN

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Comments

18 Feb 2012 06:59a.m.

Mike wrote:

or put it another way ...

More people in prison vote Labour so Labour chases the vote by being soft on crime. Labour also believes in that crime doesn't apply to them. Take Mallards flogging of his tickets for profit or a multitude of other crimes that have slipped by Labour Party influence, including flying a criminal suspect (connected at the highest levels to the Labour govt of the time) out from the USA using a RNZAF plane as they couldn't fly comercial at the time (if had used commercial flight, would have been stopped and arrested while trying to flee the USA).

Take the dental mentioned. Its not that dental care in prison is so terrible, it is that public dental care is even worse! Many people get dental work done while in prison as its free and doesn't cost like private dental work for the rest of NZ.

17 Feb 2012 08:38p.m.

Action wrote:

Each criminal should be presented with a pair of angels wings. Then our extra soft court sentencing may nearly fit into place.

17 Feb 2012 07:09p.m.

Clarke wrote:

@Longtrack grow up National and Labour over the last 30 years BOTH systematically cut funding to the mental health services in New Zealand. Both are as guilty as each other, dont go labour bashing when I can show that National closed down many half way homes, many mental health facilities... and under a National government because of the Authoritarianism attitude they in general imprison more people than a government run by Labour as National are more of a punitive party than many others. Get off that high horse of yours and try to use facts.. and the facts are both Labour and National did this. Dont cry about how labour did nothing for 9 years... but not have a go at National for not doing anything in the last three as the problem has worsened. This began decades ago with facility closures and moves to reintergrate mental health patients back into the communities so that the government could cut costs. Cuts to disability support services and Prisons are generally tougher under a National governmet... the only correct way to argue it is that National make people suffer more than labour does in general.

17 Feb 2012 04:19p.m.

sam wrote:

@longtack its funny how this report can in National partys 2nd term?"Its all Labours doing lol"

17 Feb 2012 02:49p.m.

Longtack wrote:

Labour had years to change the status quo but didn't. The system now is as it was 10 years ago. Dental treatment is pretty poor, and the stated criteria of Corrections is that medical/dental treatment is similar to what's available on the outside is laughable. If they want to deliver a substandard service then they should stop pretending that they don't (for starters.)