•  Prisoners rights group claims inmates with legitimate health needs receive inadequate treatment
• Financially-politically powerful receive facilities sans legitimate need    

Prisoners’ rights activists alleged that the existing system for providing medical treatment to prison inmates has been crippled by corruption and irregularities, resulting in inmates with legitimate medical needs facing inadequate treatment, while those with financial and political power are able to obtain Prison Hospital facilities even without a legitimate need.

The Committee for Protecting the Rights of Prisoners (CPRP) raised these concerns in a statement issued yesterday (14), against the backdrop of the former Deputy Director of the Prison Hospital Dr. Hemantha Ranasinghe being arrested earlier this week on bribery charges. 

The statement added that the unfair provision of medical treatment violates Article 12(1) of the Constitution, which states that all citizens should be treated equally, as well as the relevant provisions of the Prisons Ordinance, which require that all prisoners receive medical treatment without discrimination.

CPRP Chairperson, attorney Senaka Perera further stated: “Despite such a legal background, in most cases, only those with political or financial power are able to receive treatment in the Prison Hospital. As we know, a certain death row inmate has been in the Prison Hospital for many years since being imprisoned. It was common for ministers to be admitted to the Prison Hospital immediately after their imprisonment. Even if they are not sick, it is the doctors attached to the Prison Hospital who permit these people to be hospitalised. These doctors, who join the service after taking the Hippocratic oath to act impartially and in accordance with medical ethics, have faced various allegations in the past. Legal action has also been taken against some of them for issuing false medical certificates.”

The statement stressed that the majority of prison inmates who face such inequalities are from lower socio-economic classes and are economically disadvantaged.

The CPRP added that in this context, medical negligence and irregularities in the prison system must be addressed without delay. While urging the establishment of an efficient mechanism to ensure that all prisoners can obtain medical treatment without discrimination, the CPRP also stressed that bringing corrupt doctors before the law is a mandatory part of these efforts.