Detention guidance 'not fit for purpose'

  Medical safeguards designed to protect people in detention should be replaced by the Government, says a report, which labels existing guidelines ‘not fit for purpose’. Ministers should immediately look to replace rule 35, which concerns the medical treatment of vulnerable persons and victims of torture being held in detention in the UK, according to the Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons. The Home Office-commissioned report echoes long-standing calls by the BMA for rules to be redrafted to meet the principles of the UN Istanbul Protocol on torture, according to its author former prisons and probation ombudsman Stephen Shaw. The review adds that any replacement should consider whether doctors currently outside of the detention centre system, such as forensic physicians, would be more appropriate to conduct the assessments. Mr Shaw says in the report: ‘I conclude that rule 35 does not do what it is intended to do — to protect vulnerable people who find themselves in detention. ‘I recommend that the Home Office immediately considers an alternative to the current rule.’   Training needed In his report, Mr Shaw calls for a full review into the procedures used in detention centres, further concluding that doctors were unable to get the time and training needed to produce quality reports. He adds: ‘Healthcare staff with whom I spoke also expressed concern about the nature of rule 35 reports. ‘They ...
Source: BMA News - Category: UK Health Source Type: news