Respect for the right to health for older prisoners? Analyzing the challenges and opportunities in correctional settings in Switzerland

Penal institutions in Switzerland differ by their size, their location, their type of detention and by many other factors. One aspect that is common for all of them is that they have to provide healthcare for the detained persons who may already arrive with illnesses or disorders, or who develop health problems during detention. Older individuals, suffering both from chronic diseases and from health problems linked to old age, can be particularly vulnerable. The concept that “prison health is public health” means that taking care of prisoners’ health does not only benefit the individual but that prison healthcare influences a whole country’s health situation. Released individuals in good health can contribute positively to society, but the public healthcare system can also be burdened by prisoners who are released in bad health.
Both for prisoners and for persons in free society, the right to health – or the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, as the WHO puts it – is a fundamental human right. On a global scale, this right is not always respected for prisoners who suffer a high burden of health problems and whose health needs often remain unmet. The aim of this thesis is to examine if this is the case also for older prisoners in Switzerland.