Dent in the System
Are all prison doctors psychopaths (or is it just HMP Kilmarnock)?
For some time now, we have delayed pulling the trigger on the story of Michael Dent, the Dumfries & Galloway man recently sentenced to nearly two years imprisonment for the non-crime of cultivating cannabis at his Kettleholm residence, an injustice which has been touched upon in recent DoD articles (e.g. here and here). We will be exposing the criminal actions of the criminal members of the criminal cartel often referred to as ‘the establishment’, including Police Scotland, the judiciary and political institutions, amongst others.
For some time now, we have delayed pulling the trigger on the story of Michael Dent, the Dumfries & Galloway man recently sentenced to nearly two years imprisonment for the non-crime of cultivating cannabis at his Kettleholm residence, an injustice which has been touched upon in recent DoD articles (e.g. here and here). We will be exposing the criminal actions of the criminal members of the criminal cartel often referred to as ‘the establishment’, including Police Scotland, the judiciary and political institutions, amongst others.
The reason for our restraint is simple: the vindictiveness of the Scottish state and its ironically misnomered ‘justice’ system.
We have already witnessed severe and blatant bias and prejudice from those who swore under oath to do neither, resulting in a 21-month sentence for a victimless crime. Compare this with the 12 month sentence a Deliveroo driver received for sexually assaulting a pregnant woman who miscarried days later as a result, it’s quite clear that the judiciary has nothing to do with justice. Given their existential propensity for malice and spite, we must await the right time to rock the establishment boat. But that time will come, and soon.
What we were not expecting was for HMP Kilmarnock to feature in our exposé. Sadly, however, tales from the inside indicate the systemic abuse of prisoners by the 500-cell prison facility’s medical service, which nowadays falls under the purview of NHS Scotland:
“. . . the provision of health care services to prisoners transferred from the SPS to the National Health Service (NHS) in November 2011. Health care services in prisons are now provided by the respective local Health Board . . . The decision to transfer health services to NHS was taken in response to policies to reduce health inequalities . . . as well as being in line with European and international standards for the healthcare of prisoners intended to ensure equity in healthcare.” (https://www.sps.gov.uk/healthcare)
This arrangement does not exonerate HMP Kilmarnock of all responsibility for health matters, of course, because the “involvement of the Prison Governor . . . to select and appoint health care staff in key management positions” is stipulated on page 5 of the 2011 National Memorandum of Understanding guidance document.
As such, while Governor Craig Thomson has demonstrated admirable urgency in addressing situations where prisoners are in immediate danger from other inmates, he is also personally responsible for appointing the medical staff at HMP Kilmarnock, who appear to be complicit in—
– flouting the NHS’ stated mission to provide ‘equity in healthcare’
– disregarding and failing continuity of medication upon arrival at HMP Kilmarnock
– allowing vital prearranged hospital appointments to be missed without any rearrangement process, undoubtedly leading to inmates health conditions worsening as a result
– signing off inmates with serious health issues as fit for manual labour, for example:
– Inmate with lung condition serious enough that emergency breathing apparatus had to be placed on the wing: DECLARED FIT FOR WORK
– Inmate known to be suffering from major heart problems who had to be physically escorted from the visit hall, mid-visit, in considerable medical distress: DECLARED FIT FOR WORK
We were led to believe that offenders are sent to prison as punishment, not to endure additional punishment upon arrival. Yet, at HMP Kilmarnock, prisoners face a callous disregard for medical needs and are forced into physical labour that potentially worsens their health conditions.
There is a glaring failure amongst HMP Kilmarnock’s healthcare staff to adhere to the protocols required under HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland’s Inspecting and Monitoring Health and Wellbeing document (https://prisonsinspectoratescotland.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publication_files/SCT121760465610.pdf).
Standard 9.6 of that protocol states:
“Everyone with a long-term health condition has access to treatment equitable to that available in the community and is supported with their wellbeing throughout their stay in prison, on transfer, and on release.”
We can state categorically that this is NOT happening at HMP Kilmarnock.
We urge Governor Thomson to address the ongoing human rights abuses of the out-of-control medical regime under his watch.
We trust Governor Thomson in his duty to address this situation with the same urgency he commendably demonstrated regarding prisoner safety.
There appears to be scant regard for medical ethics at HMP Kilmarnock—or are all prison doctors psychopaths?
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This article can also be viewed on Declaration of Dumfries Substack page.