Health care in Belgian prisons

KCE Reports 293C (2017)

The responsibility for health care in prison is planned to be transferred from the Minister of Justice to that of Public Health. To prepare for this transfer, we were asked to take stock of the current organization of care and to suggest ways to improve it. Many inmates are in poor health in our prisons, and the care professionals who care for them, often with great dedication, face many problems. Therefore we developed some scenarios in order to enable them to play their caregiving role to the best of their ability, including interdisciplinary teams for primary care, an individual care plan for each newcomer, and continuity of care with caregivers from outside the prison community – also after release, and a strengthening of coordination at the national level. Our country must be able to provide prisoners with health care equivalent to that provided outside the prison, which is also required by Belgian and international legislation.

Table of Contents

• Chapter 1: Organisation of Health care in Belgian prisons
• Chapter 2: Health problems and health care utilisation in Belgian prisons
• Chapter 3: Systematic review of healthcare use and needs of prisoners
• Chapter 4: Organization models of health care services in prisons in four countries
• Chapter 5: Financial aspects of health care in Belgian prisons
• Chapter 6: Organisation of health care in Belgian prisons – legal framework
• Chapter 7: Competences for the organisation of health care, health promotion, prevention and wellbeing in Belgian prisons
• Chapter 8: The insurability of prisoners in Belgium
• Chapter 9: Health care in Belgian Prisons: Scenario building blocks
• Chapter 10: Future organization of health care in Belgian prisons: final stakeholder consultation
• Chapter 11: Health care in Belgian prisons - Colophon