§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what types of sedatives were prescribed for the 33women at Cookham Wood prison receiving night sedatives on 22 November;
- (2) what is the reason for the reduction of the number of women on night sedatives at Cookham Wood prison from 42 on 18 June to 33 on 22 November; if the other nine women are still prisoners; and, if so, why they no longer receive night sedation;
- (3) how long each of the 33 women has been on night sedation at Cookham Wood prison; and what were their ages.
§ Mr. BrittanI am having inquiries made and shall write to the hon. Gentleman when the information is available.
§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his attitude is to the experiment on prisoners with Depixol and Modecote by Dr. McCleery in view of the Minister of State's statement, Official Report, 27 July, c. 544, that prison medical officers may not prescribe any drugs for experimental purposes.
§ Mr. BrittanDr. McCleery's contributions in thePrison Medical Journal give an account of his observations on the effectiveness of Depixol and Modecote in the prison setting. Depixol and Modecote are not new drugs. They were, and still are, being widely used outside prisons and their prescription and use by by Dr. McCleery cannot be described as experimental.
§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what types of sedative were prescribed for the 14 women at Styal prison and the 12 at Risley remand centre.
§ Mr. BrittanThe sedatives prescribed at Risley remand centre were benzodiazepine derivatives and chloral hydrate. I regret that I misinformed the hon. Gentleman when I told him that 14 prisoners at Styal prison received night 103W sedatives on 22 November; this was, in fact, the number of prisoners who received medication at 8 pm on that day and of the 14, none received a night sedative. When night sedatives are necessary, benzodiazepine derivatives and chloral hydrate are generally prescribed.
§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women were in Holloway on 22 November; and how many were on night sedatives.
§ Mr. BrittanOn 22 November there were 394 women in Holloway prison of whom 228 received night sedatives.