Detainees left for several days in a "
bed soiled with urine or fecal matter
", demented people abandoned in their room ... Here is what can be read in the report of the Controller General of places of deprivation of liberty (CGLPL), published this Tuesday, May 8 in the official journal, about the living conditions of people locked in the prison of Bedenac, in Charente-Maritime.
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At the end of a visit by six controllers from the independent authority, which took place from March 29 to April 2, 2021, “
unworthy conditions of detention for people suffering from pathologies and disabilities
”
were observed.
"
Incompatible with the treatments offered
".
A "
horrible
"
situation
denounced by journalist Dominique Simonnot, appointed in October 2020 at the head of the CGLPL, on
France Inter
this Tuesday morning.
The inmates left behind
In Bedenac prison, a “
support and autonomy unit
”, made up of around twenty cells, was specially designed in 2013 to accommodate aging prisoners with reduced mobility.
However, although the construction is recent, no development has been observed in the premises: “
We can cite the lack of grab bars in the corridors, bedrooms and bathrooms, the shelves too high to be usable from the wheelchair, the absence of an accessible call button in the event of a fall or from the bed
”, initially alerted the report.
A man fell to the ground.
Weighing 150 kilos, he could not be picked up and transferred to the hospital until after two and a half hours with the help of the firefighters.
The report published in the official journal
“
Outrages upon personal dignity
”, on “
non-respect for the right to health
” but also “
to security
”, are then revealed.
Of the fifteen detainees who have a medical bed, three people suffer from "
urinary or faecal incontinence
".
They "
wait for medical help which comes two to three times a week and therefore live the rest of the time in their piss and their shit, in their soiled bed
", indignant Dominique Simonnot, horrified.
Among the detainees, four suffer from obesity, two of whom require, when they fall, the help of six people to be relieved. During the inspectors' visit, "
a man fell to the ground
": "
Weighing 150 kilos, he could not be picked up and transferred to the hospital until after two and a half hours with the help of the sappers. - firefighters
”, details the report. Faced with this situation, the independent authority points to an important pitfall: “
If a fire broke out at night, the vast majority of people in wheelchairs would not be able to leave their bed alone.
".
Others have dementia “
at different stages
”.
"
One of the people (...) urgently requires care in a specialized structure with constant surveillance: she was seen by the inspectors in the process of peeling and eating her plastic alarm clock (the only object she did not have). removed) and regularly drinks the water from the toilets using what she finds as a cup
”.
Insufficient health personnel
For four years, caregivers have sounded the alarm about what is happening within the walls of the detention center. During the authority's visit, the general practitioner was on the move, "
no longer able to ethically accept the conditions of accommodation and care of his patients detained in building G
". "
I can no longer work in these conditions,
" he said. Consequently, the people who are detained there no longer have daily access to a general practitioner, and there is no permanent care at night on the site.
In addition, the planning of the prison health unit, consulted by the inspectors, reveals that
"very often"
, a single nurse is present for the entire establishment. “
It is impossible for her to carry out all of her missions on her own, the administration of drugs or health education, in conditions which respect the dignity and rights of her patients.
"
The question then arises of the suspension of the sentence for medical reasons, or a modification of the sentence, as provided by law. "
The magistrates are confronted with a shortage of medical experts, especially psychiatrists, and with too long delays of expertise
", judges the report. The questions put to the experts are "
insufficiently precise to allow a relevant light of the judge
", continues the authority, before adding that the concepts of "
dangerousness
" and "
risk of recidivism
", often put forward by the experts and regularly retained by the judges as the overriding reason for rejection, "
are not always analyzed with regard to the physical condition of the detained person
".
The government says it is "
mobilized
" on the issue
In a letter that it is possible to consult following the report published in the official journal, ministers Éric Dupond-Moretti and Olivier Véran recognize that "
the numbers of health units are not in line with increasingly serious pathologies. of detained persons received
”.
Point by point, they provide answers and mobilize "
to improve the care of aging prisoners and to ensure respect for their fundamental rights
".
For the moment, Dominique Simonnot has given three recommendations: first, to put an end
"without delay to the unworthy conditions of detention of people suffering from pathologies and handicaps incompatible with the care offered"
, also to ensure their
"right to 'access to care'
and finally the setting up of
'personal assistance'.
