Under the Light: Providing Prison Health Care In Scotland under State, National and International Oversight

The Health and Care of Scottish prisoners, as well as their civil and human rights, is subject to oversight by multiple jurisdictions. The Scottish Prison System is part of the Ministry of Justice. Within Great Britain, oversight is provided by the National Preventative Mechanism, developed in accordance with the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture. As part of the Council of Europe (COE), Scottish Prisons are also visited by the COE's Committee for the Prevention of Torture. Great Britain recently implemented its National Preventive Mechanism. This process required the creation of a unified system to assure the civil and human rights of prisoners in England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The Author, a physician and Director of Health and Care for the Scottish Prisons, will critically review the multiple oversight mechanisms, both internal and internal, which monitor his prison health care system.