No round-the-clock doctors at Poojapura Central jail

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Massacre-accused Cadell Jeasen Raja, 30, choked on a foreign particle, at Central jail at 4.30 am last week and it took another hour for him to get medical help as he had to be taken to Medical College Hospital. Despite recommendations by various agencies, 24x7 medical services remain a pipedream at Poojapura and at all the central jails in the state.

Poojapura Central jail boasts of a 40-bedded hospital. However, they have just two doctors and a pharmacist. The correctional facility has no nurse and the conditions are the same at other central jails in the state, sources revealed.
As per the reports submitted to the Kerala State Human Rights Commission, at any given time there are up to 70 patients with cardiac ailments at Poojapura central jail alone. Apart from these were cancer patients and cirrhotic patients.

“We have an ambulance at Poojapura and our Medical College Hospital is just 8km away. The patients in district jails located in neighbouring districts are brought to Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital and Regional Cancer Centre (RCC),” said Central Prison Superintendent S Santhosh.

Section 54 of the CRPC says that medical checkups of inmates must be done before accepting them in prisons. However, such medical checkups are not always possible. As per the State Human Rights Commission, there has to be a doctor at any jail that has over 40 patients. There are nearly 7000 inmates lodged in various jails across the state.