Convicts at Reading prison are losing out on their right to “unimpeded access to health care when required”.
After screening and authorisation, prisoners are required to surrender their prescription or medical records, revealing what drugs they are taking.
Staff cannot have access. For patients with mental health conditions, this potentially opens the door to preventative detention or ECHL, the control order where a prisoner with mental health problems and a cannabis smoking habit can be forcibly placed in isolation.
“When we introduced a blanket prescription retention scheme to punish smokers for their second-hand smoke, it was instantly followed by a flood of abuse of our customers,” explained Frank Pethick, head of legal at Kingsley Napley law firm.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists, the British Medical Association and disability law organisation Andrejs are currently taking court action on behalf of seven people at Reading.