THE DOCTOR PRESCRIBED IT. DID THE PRISONER EVER RECEIVE IT?

Foreign Prisoners Network Mauritius is calling for an independent investigation into the provision of medical treatment and prescribed medication inside Mauritius prisons, following serious concerns raised by detainees and recent deaths in custody.

According to multiple accounts received from prisoners, detainees who request medical assistance are generally referred to a doctor. Their consultation is recorded in their personal medical file and, where necessary, medication is prescribed.

The concern arises afterwards. Prisoners allege that prescribed medication is sometimes never provided, provided too late or not provided in accordance with the prescription, despite the medical consultation itself appearing in their records. If substantiated, this would expose a dangerous gap between medical care recorded on paper and treatment actually received by the patient. “A medical record cannot administer medicine. A prescription means nothing if the medication never reaches the prisoner.”

Foreign Prisoners Network stresses that these allegations require independent verification and should not be treated as established fact without investigation.

However, recent deaths in custody at Melrose Prison and Beau-Bassin Prison, together with previously reported concerns regarding prison healthcare, make independent scrutiny increasingly important.

Prisoners cannot choose another doctor A prisoner cannot simply visit another pharmacy, arrange a second medical opinion or independently travel to hospital. Once the State deprives a person of liberty, that individual becomes almost entirely dependent upon the State for access to medical treatment. That creates a heightened duty of care.

Foreign Prisoners Network therefore calls for an independent audit comparing: doctors’ prescriptions; actual medication administration records; prison pharmacy and stock records; hospital referrals; serious medical incidents; and deaths in custody.

Such an investigation should establish a simple fact: Did prisoners actually receive the medication doctors prescribed? Foreign Prisoners Network is not calling for special treatment for prisoners.

It is calling for basic human rights. A person may lose their liberty following arrest or conviction, but they do not lose their right to human dignity and necessary medical treatment. This is particularly important for remand prisoners who have not yet been convicted.

Mauritius has an opportunity to provide transparency Foreign Prisoners Network calls upon the Government of Mauritius and the relevant independent authorities to conduct a transparent review of prison healthcare, with particular scrutiny of serious incidents at Melrose and Beau-Bassin.

If the allegations prove unfounded, an independent investigation can establish that. If weaknesses are identified, they can be corrected. But ignoring the allegations should not be an option.

Mauritius presents itself internationally as a democratic state, respected financial jurisdiction and world-class tourism destination. The treatment of people held entirely under State control is therefore also a question of institutional credibility and good governance.

“When the State locks a person behind a prison door, it takes responsibility not only for their custody, but also for their basic health and safety.”

FOREIGN PRISONERS NETWORK MAURITIUS Foreign Prisoners Network advocates for human dignity, legal protection and fundamental rights for foreign detainees and other vulnerable prisoners within the Mauritian criminal justice system. www.foreign-prisoners.com

THE QUESTION IS SIMPLE: THE DOCTOR PRESCRIBED IT. DID THE PRISONER EVER RECEIVE IT?