Prisoners (Medical Treatment) (Hansard, 16 July 1985)

§ Mr. Peter Bruinvels
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the criteria for determining whether prisoners should be released from (a) open prisons and (b) closed prisons for medical treatment; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Mellor
Prisoners requiring medical treatment that cannot be provided within the prison system are sent outside for it. Security arrangements are decided case by case. Prisoners from open prisons do not usually require extensive security arrangements and they are frequently sent to outside hospitals even though appropriate treatment is available elsewhere in the prison system.

§ Mr. Peter Bruinvels
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were released from (a) open prisons and (b) closed prisons for medical treatment during each of the last five years.

§ Mr. Mellor
The approximate number of occasions on which prisoners were treated in outside hospitals was as follows. The figures do not distinguish between open and closed prisons.

Year In Patient Treatments^* Out Patient Treatments

1980 1,400 14,500

1981 1,400 15,500

1982 1,500 16,300

1983 1,650 17,700

1984^† 2,300 21,500

^* Excludes confinements

^† Fifteen months from 1 January 1984 to 31 March 1985

Year	In Patient Treatments^*	Out Patient Treatments
1980	1,400	14,500
1981	1,400	15,500
1982	1,500	16,300
1983	1,650	17,700
1984^†	2,300	21,500
^* Excludes confinements
^† Fifteen months from 1 January 1984 to 31 March 1985