ABSTRACT
The prison medical officer has an important influence on treatment options. This chapter discusses the links between the length of time spent in prison, and the treatment options. Doctors expect patients to accept their diagnosis and treatment plan. They expect patients to take the treatment as conscientiously as possible and to return at a pre-arranged time. As well as the obvious issues of authority and control, which affect how prison medicine is perceived, there are characteristics of the prison environment which affect how drug users can be supported while in prison. Drug users pose an extensive problem for the prison service in the UK. Studies do show drug use continuing in prison, with many users continuing to inject or even beginning to inject while in prison. Prison medical officers are therefore responsible for developing more comprehensive services for the drug users in their prison.
