Department of Correctional Services pleads for upgrade of medical unit following death of Noel Chambers

The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) has responded to the death of Noel Chambers with a plea for an upgrade of its medical unit.

Chambers, an 81 year-old mentally ill inmate, who had languished behind bars for some 40 years without a trial, died in January. His emaciated body, riddled with bed bugs and bed sores, has become an example of the defects of the local judicial system for human rights lobbyists.

His case was brought to light by the Independent Commission of Investigations recently, as one of several mentally ill persons who have been imprisoned without trial. There are some 146 mentally ill persons who are incarcerated.

In a release from the Commissioner of Corrections yesterday, Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Gary Rowe, said although efforts were made to ensure Chambers received psychiatric care and regular medical attention within the system, and also at public hospitals, there is a need to strengthen the correctional system's capacity to offer medical care to inmates. 

"The department continues to lobby for not only the upgrading of our medical unit, but further staff and infrastructural relevance," the commissioner stated, pointing out the urgent need for more psychiatrists in the system "to ensure that the DCS can comply with the requirement for the volume of evaluations demanded in the courts." 

He said there is also a need for nurses and assistants to support mentally ill inmates, noting that the duty currently falls on the shoulders of correctional offers and other inmates who volunteer.

Rowe said the DCS will be outlining plans soon to improve care within the current system. 

"Admittedly there is room for improvement throughout the system, and from the part of the DCS, we are prioritising the review of these vulnerabilities in order to implement the best measures for transformation, to ensure that there is never a repeat of this incident," the release from the commissioner outlined. 

"The law indicates that the unfit to plead should be assessed monthly and the report submitted to the requisite court. The DCS is seeking to strengthen the measures in place to ensure that a more structured and comprehensive approach is taken. It is our determined intention that our mentally challenged, and the most vulnerable, within the care of the DCS, must be provided with the necessary opportunities for successful reintegration," the release added.

Minister of National Security, Dr Horace Chang is expected to provide more details in parliament on the plans to upgrade the current infrastructure. 

Courts to be blamed

Human rights lawyer, Nancy Anderson had blamed the courts for the situation last week, pointing out that there is little correctional facilities can do to prevent the languishing of mentally ill persons who have been incarcerated. 

“They take the orders of the court," she told The Gleaner. "A person is sent to them with an order to say they’re to be held for a certain amount of years, or indefinitely,” said Anderson.

"I blame the courts for the situation that exists in those correctional centres,” she said. 

The judiciary, led by Chief Justice Bryan Sykes, has responded to the situation by establishing a Mental Health Task Force to review law, policies, and procedures relating to persons in custody with mental illness. The task force’s report is expected within approximately four months.

The judiciary has said that systemic challenges within the court system could have contributed to the death of Chambers.

“It is clear that many institutions, including the courts, failed in their duty to safeguard the right of Mr Chambers to life, liberty, and a fair trial within a reasonable time before a properly constituted and impartial court,” read as statement from the judiciary last week.

“Mr Chambers was victimised several times,” it concluded.

It said that an incident of that nature should not be repeated.

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