Pune: Majority of Prisoners Undergoing Treatment at Sassoon Hospital to Return to Jail  

Pune, 8th October 2023: In response to mounting concerns over the prolonged hospitalization of prisoners, the administration established a three-level committee tasked with evaluating the necessity of hospitalization for inmates. Divisional Commissioner Saurabh Rao issued directives in this regard, leading to the pivotal decision made during the committee meeting.

Recently, a drug dealer ‘escaped’ from the hospital. He was admitted to the hospital for treatment.

The committee’s mandate is unequivocal: no inmate in need of medical treatment shall be denied care. However, it equally emphasizes that individuals not requiring medical attention should not exploit the system by seeking shelter under the guise of treatment. To uphold this principle, the condition of seven prisoners currently admitted to Sassoon Hospital was meticulously reviewed. The committee has also clarified that the final determination of whether an inmate should be returned to the jail will rest with the attending physician.

For inmates whose treatment is complete, an expeditious discharge from the hospital will be arranged. In cases where diagnostic tests remain pending and the patient declines to undergo them, the administration will be duly notified. Significantly, the hospital’s inmate committee, in a decisive move, voted to accelerate the process of returning patients to the jail.

Certain patients have been advised to undergo diagnostic tests such as MRI, but some prisoners have refused to comply. Consequently, further medical evaluations are on hold, leading to a stalemate in the patient’s return to the jail. Such circumstances necessitate immediate reporting to the jail administration and have sparked discussions about the potential release of non-cooperative inmates.

“The prisoner committee will conduct regular weekly assessments of inmates’ conditions, seeking input from their treating physicians. Admission to the hospital for treatment will only be considered if deemed necessary. Coordination mechanisms have been established to ensure that the medical superintendent of the hospital, the prisoner committee, team leaders, and department heads are kept informed about these developments”, said Dr. Sanjeev Thakur, Dean of B.J. Government Medical College and Sassoon Hospital.