§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of prisoners(a) suffer from mental health problems, (b) smoke, (c) have taken illegal drugs, (d) have chronic pulmonary heart disease, (e) have coronary heart disease, and (f) have diabetes. [109699]
§ Jacqui SmithA survey of psychiatric morbidity among prisoners in England and Wales, undertaken in 1997 by the Office for National Statistics, showed that around 90 per cent. of prisoners sampled displayed evidence of at least one of the five disorders, personality disorder, psychosis, neurosis, alcohol misuse and drug dependence, considered in the survey. The same study showed that 85 per cent. of men on remand, 78 per cent. of sentenced men, 83 per cent. of women on remand and 81 per cent. of sentenced women smoked. It also indicated that 85 per cent. of men on remand, 81 per cent. of sentenced men, 77 per cent. of women on remand and 69 per cent. of sentenced women had ever taken an illegal drug.
No similarly wide-ranging studies have been undertaken to ascertain the prevalence of chronic pulmonary heart disease, coronary heart disease or diabetes among the prison population of England and Wales.
§ Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prisoners who have been diagnosed with a functional psychosis are receiving treatment. [109555]
§ Jacqui SmithInformation is not collected centrally in the form requested. We estimate that around 5,000 prisoners at any one time suffer from a severe mental illness. Under NHS Plan commitments, by 2004 every prisoner with a severe mental illness will be in receipt of appropriate treatment.
§ Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prisoners underwent a course of(a) methadone maintenance and (b) methadone reduction in the last year for which figures are available. [109535]
§ Jacqui SmithPrison service establishments reported that 41,916 drug arid alcohol detoxifications were carried out between 1 April 2001 and 31 March 2002. Information is not collected centrally on the number of uses of particular methods of clinical management of substance misusers in prisons.
§ Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what research he has commissioned into the public health risk posed by prisoners engaging in unprotected sex; and what discussions he has had with the Home Office on reducing this risk. 109559]
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§ Jacqui SmithThe risks to individuals' and the public health from unprotected sex are already well understood by the prison service, which has already issued advice to prison doctors about the circumstances in which they should make condoms available to prisoners.