public safety

A doctor for every 900 inmates

The Defensoría del Pueblo maintains that the poor medical care in prisons is unconstitutional.

In its latest report on health services offered inside Panama’s prisons, the Defensoría del Pueblo reiterated once again that, because of the "lack of resources, medical personnel, supplies and medicines," the attention given to inmates is inadequate.

The report states that poor medical care is one of the most frequent complaints of inmates. Specifically, they say that doctors fail to follow up with their needs and there is a constant lack of medicine.

But doctors should not be blamed. According to the Sistema Penitenciario, there are 13 doctors and four dentists that care for a total of 11,398 inmates, or roughly one doctor for every 900 inmates.

According to the same report, the Sistema Penitenciario budgets $14,000 annually for the purchase of medicine and supplies, and the system receives $15,000 a month from the Ministerio de Salud.

Although the Defensoría del Pueblo recognized that some measures have been taken to address the shortage of doctors and supplies, it insisted that not nearly enough has been done and that "the government can not atone itself from its constitutional and legal responsibility in a field so delicate as the health system."