Prison Service lacks medical doctors

The Ghana Prisons Service is currently without a single medical doctor to take care of inmates.

Majority of healthcare professionals within the service are made up of health aids, nurses and medical assistants.

There are more than 15,000 inmates in the 43 prison establishments across the country.

Quality health care

This situation has made it difficult to provide quality healthcare services for both officers and inmates as the few health professionals were taking care of the infirmaries where they offer first aid to inmates. Serious cases are often reffered to government hospitals.

The Chairman of the Prisons Council, Rev. Dr Stephen Wengam, who disclosed this to the  Daily Graphic in an interview in Toronto, Canada, said the prisons regulations enjoined the service to ensure that a medical officer visited the prisons at least, daily to attend to sick inmates.

"This is an area which requires a serious interven