§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether a prisoner in England and Wales may be given compulsory medical treatment, and, if so, under what circumstances.
§ Lord EltonDoctors working in prisons have no statutory authority to administer treatment against the wishes of their patients. It would thus be defensible to treat a prisoner against his wishes only if otherwise his life would be endangered, serious harm to him or others would be likely or there would be an irreversible deterioration in his condition. Such emergencies are in practice very rare.