At: http://www.ombudsman.wa.gov.au/publications/index.html you will see the WA Ombudsman's "Report on an investigation into deaths in prisons" in four parts in Adobe pdf format. For those with an interest in deaths in custody, self harm, and indigenous health, this is a MUST READ. Whilst the report is too late to save the lives of many, and the minds of more, it nonetheless makes some significant recommendations. The most important is perhaps that the provision of health services to inmates should be by a new entity independent of the Ministry of Justice. 4.1 That the Ministry should instigate a research project that examines funding for health services in prisons in Australian and comparable overseas jurisdictions with a view to establishing a resourcing model that reflects best practice and provides a level of prison health services that are the equivalent of health services in prisons in other jurisdictions and in the wider community. and 6.10 That the planning and delivery of prison health services should be the responsibility of a body entirely external to the Ministry - with independent funding - to ensure the treatment of prisoners as patients and that prison health services are equivalent to those available in the community. Until this change can be brought about the other recommendations in this Report concerning health services should be implemented. Whilst this is nothing new, it is part of the inmate health policy of the AMA and other professional bodies, it has already been denied as any future policy of the WA MOJ system by the self appointed QC and Attorney General of WA, Mr Peter Foss. Another recommendation is that all Nurses in the Ministry be employed under the award for the ANF, and not the Prison Officers Union as is the currently "norm." 6.2 That the Ministry consider the following strategies to address the shortage of nursing staff: (a) promotion of prison nursing as a specialised field of expertise which should be accredited and taught as a unit in the tertiary nursing qualification; (b) the greater involvement of trainee nurses in prison nursing to increase awareness of the range of skills required in this field of expertise and similar encouragement of medical students from teaching hospitals to increase community involvement and awareness; (c) introduction of a structured career development program for staff by including training and the acquisition of additional qualifications in a continuing education model similar to that available in other professions; and (d) given that the nursing community is small and shares experiences, commitment to improvement of its profile as a , good employer™ by addressing the concerns of its staff that they are under-valued, not appreciated and are more likely to be blamed than receive support. 6.3 That, as a matter of priority, the Ministry develop a strategy for the employment of all nursing staff under the ANF award as part of a strategy to encourage a cultural change and to enhance the independence of health services from operational staff. Yet I cannot find any recommendation that the Ministry access or employ graduate professional Indigenous Health Workers (BApp Sci (Indigenous Community Health)? Are they too black or is it that one of their prime roles is their advocacy for the wellness of their clients and this conflicts with the mindset of the incarcerators?? Yet importantly: 5.7 That the Ministry ensure that a culture prevails within prisons that permits health services personnel to make decisions about the health care of prisoners which pay proper regard to non-health issues but which are, essentially, based only on an assessment of what is in the best medical/health interests of the prisoner. however: 7.1 Where there are difficulties in ensuring compliance by some Aboriginal prisoners with Western medication regimes, prison health staff should be willing and able to involve appropriate community members with knowledge of traditional healing methods and/or who may be able to persuade prisoners to accept medication regimes. and importantly: 6.6 That the Ministry: (a) ensure that the health of prisoners receives, and is seen to receive, the same level of commitment as prison operations; and, (b) take steps to improve the working conditions of health services staff and enhance their status within the system with the aim of emphasising their independence and raising the standard of health services generally. 6.7 That the Ministry monitor the capacity of its new information technology system to ensure that it is adequate to enable it to ascertain the effectiveness of its initiatives, programs and strategies and determine priorities for service modification and development. 6.8 That the Ministry raise the issue of the exclusion of prisoners from Medicare coverage with the JJ/HIDC with a view to it being referred to the appropriate State and Federal authorities for comprehensive review and investigation. 6.9 That the objectives and operation of the JJ/HIDC be reviewed in order to utilise the full potential of the joint expertise of such a body. A fundamental point that is apparently missed entirely is that this "super" Ministry of justice, incorporating as it does the both the bench (court system) and the retributive/rehabilitative (penal) elements destroys one of the important philosophical aspects of a democracy - the separation of powers. In a state administrative system that sees these two elements each covered by a different minister, there is a necessary friction at the level of the Executive Council/Cabinet. This necessitates a full and open debate across government of issues at the core of our justice administration. The "super" model implemented in WA denies this necessary friction, this separation of powers, and the cabinet and the broader body politic of our society must suffer for this political administrative convenience. Also the gross over-incarceration of First Nation Australians is somehow patronised in the statistical analysis and comment: 2.40 It must be borne in mind that the All prisoners rates shown in Table 2.5 are inflated by the inclusion in them of the indigenous prisoner statistics. Even so, it can be seen that in Western Australia indigenous persons are imprisoned at 14.2 times the rate for the population of the State as a whole. The Australian Bureau of Statistics has calculated an indigenous rate of imprisonment that is 22 times the non-indigenous rate (in June 1999, Corrective Services Australia, June quarter 1999, Series 4512.0, September 1999). Quaint, when considered alongside the table (2.5) itself, which can reveal a whole new world of the genocide in WA, when Indigenous males are shown as incarcerated at a rate of 5697.6:100,000, and the State of Victoria, Australian best practice, shows a rate of 73.8: 100,000 for non-Indigenous males, and this works out to a comparative rate of 77 times. Yes! Compared to a non-Indigenous male in Victoria, an Indigenous male in WA has an expectation of incarceration that is SEVENTY SEVEN times the rate of his non-Indigenous mate in Victoria! Here's the evidence, Western Australia IS the most racist state in Australia. Lies, damn lies and statistics, or an element of truth? Given these figures, how can anyone talk of Re-Conned-Silly-Nation (Chicka Dixon 1998) when the concilliation has not yet taken place for us to Re.....? I'll leave you to examine the detail, but I do hope that I have stimulated your appetite.... jim ------------------------------------------------------ RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/ To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the body of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Bodyçsubscribe%20announce This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." RecOzNet2 is archived for members @ http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznet2%40paradigm4.com.au/
