Prison and drug users
Monday, 17 Mar 2008 10:15
Healthcare for prisoners with drug problems is lacking, report claims
The standard of healthcare and support for prisoners with drug problems "falls well below" the acceptable minimum standards in many prisons, a report has warned.
The UK Drug Policy Commission (UK DPC) says community orders should be used instead of short prison sentences for less serious offences to address drug use.
Its report also calls for a greater focus on the quality of services provided, including the need for wider 'wrap-around' services such as support for finding stable housing and employment.
The UK DPC says there is reasonable evidence to support specialist drug courts; community sentences; prison-based therapeutic communities; and opioid detoxification and methadone maintenance programmes within prisons and the community.
"The review we have carried out demonstrates just how far the prison system needs to travel if it is to deliver a standard of health care and support for prisoners which is sufficient to make a sustained impact on offenders' problem drug use once they leave," commented UK DPC chair Dame Ruth Runciman.
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