Primary Care


The prison healthcare service is responsible for the primary medical care of all people in custody, including:

  • The health and medical assessment of all new committals
  • Ongoing general medical care
  • Prescribing an appropriate course of treatment and monitoring that treatment for its duration
  • Referral for specialist opinion and treatment, where appropriate. No in-patient care is provided within Irish prisons. Secondary care provided in prisons may include treatment and care by psychiatrists, specialists in substance abuse and specialists in STI, and psychologists, while all other secondary care is provided by acute hospitals in the HSE. If a prison doctor refers someone to an external secondary service, they will be placed on the public waiting list and once he/she is called for the appointment, his/her escort to the appointment will be facilitated by the IPS.
  • Liaison with other professionals involved in the overall care and well-being of people in custody
  • Screening people in custody for relevant diseases
  • Ensuring the provision of vaccination programmes for people in custody

 

Each closed prison has a minimum of one prison doctor who attends Monday to Friday and also provides an out of hours on call service.  Nurses provide 24-hour cover in all closed prisons.

Doctors and nurses are the first point of contact for people seeking medical treatment, and they provide services similar to those available in a GP practice in the community.  People in custody can request to see a doctor or nurse at any time.