THE directive by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye, to the Police Hospital to extend healthcare services to suspects in police cells across the country is welcome news for which we say, ‘Bravo!’.
According to our front page story yesterday, a medical team from the Public Health Department, led by Dr Iddi Musah, had been formed to immediately offer services to inmates in police cells in the Greater Accra Region.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra, the Director of Police Public Affairs, Superintendent of Police, Mr Kwesi Ofori, said the police clinics in the regions and districts would also follow suit in their respective locations, adding that where the conditions of suspects were critical, they would be immediately referred to specialists.
This novel initiative of the Police Administration is very commendable and has been necessitated by the poor healthcare conditions in police cells, which are the first port of call for suspects, as well as some remand prisoners.
It is a fact that there are serious sanitation problems in our prisons, not to mention police cells where inmates are made to sleep under inhuman conditions.
Such deplorable conditions where visitors are greeted with obnoxious stench are debasing and go against the fundamental human rights of the inmates. Even persons who have been convicted and sentenced need not be treated this way because they have a right to healthy living.
We should be mindful of the fact that inmates of police cells are mere suspects until they have been tried, convicted and sentenced by a court of competent jurisdiction. Under no circumstance, therefore, must inmates be treated shabbily.
It is our hope that this novelty will be sustained to assist in speedy and efficient justice delivery in this country because reports of suspects being unable to attend court because of sickness is replete in our courts.
There have been reports of situations where sick suspects and, for that matter, inmates have been left to their fate because of the lack of medical facilities. In some instances, relatives of such persons are asked to see to the proper treatment of the inmates just because they seem to have been neglected because the police do not have the resources.
The DAILY GRAPHIC commends this initiative and appeals that it be implemented to the letter so that it does not become a mere public relations gimmick.
Prison and police cell inmates suffer all kinds of ailments and infectious skin disorders partly because of the unhygienic conditions in which they stay and it is sheer providence that there has not been any major outbreak of diseases.
All well-meaning Ghanaians and institutions must embrace this initiative to make it a reality to save lives and create a positive image for our justice delivery system.
Another problem that hinders the system is the lack of vehicles to convey inmates from the prisons and police cells to the courts, a situation which poses serious danger to security personnel and inmates alike.
It is a common to see inmates or suspects being paraded through crowded streets in handcuffs because of the lack of vehicles to convey such persons to court. In other cases, some of them are left to languish in custody for long periods, their cases virtually forgotten.
These are critical issues that must be tackled with urgency and the police need support in order to execute their duties because they are handicapped by the lack of resources.
For now, we say bravo to the Police Administration for coming up with this laudable initiative on the provision of health care.
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