Duties of the prison medical service
The Prison Medical Service, part of the Department of Internal Medicine EOC and operating at the Regional Hospital of Lugano, takes charge of the medical management of the cantonal prison facilities (La Farera, La Stampa and Lo Stampino) and psychiatric management. Specifically, psychiatric intake and treatment of therapeutic measures are delegated to the Cantonal Sociopsychiatric Organization (OSC).
The duties of the prison medical service consist of:
- providing quality care to inmates in prisons in Canton Ticino;
- provide care equivalent to that available to the general population in the community;
- apply the rules of medical law and professional ethics;
- develop prevention and health promotion initiatives in prisons;
- improve coordination with external health networks;
- develop training and education on aspects of prison health, law and medical ethics;
- develop research and improve knowledge of prison health.
Prison medicine has peculiarities in its management due to:
- different prevalence of certain diseases compared to the general population;
- presence of certain symptomatological pictures that are exclusive to the inmate patient;
- necessary continuous dialectic between health and custodial needs that is expressed between health, prison and judicial figures;
- distress secondary to the detention condition (prison entry trauma).
The Service is headed by Dr. med. Salamone and is composed of a medical, nursing and psychiatric/psychological team that takes charge of detained patients from the outset and within 24 h of arrival at the cantonal prison facilities perform an initial medical examination.
