THE RIGHT TO HEALTH IN PRISON: RESULTS OF A NATIONWIDE SURVEY AND REPORT Distribution of Prescription Drugs and Medication 4.28 A prison facility should store all prescription drugs safely and under the control and supervision of the doctor in charge. Distribution of medication and/or prescription drugs should only be done by the prison doctor or pharmacist. In an emergency, medically trained correctional staff should be permitted to administer prescription drugs at the direction of the prison doctor. 4.29 International standards makes clear that in no instance should a prisoner administer prescription drugs to another prisoner. However, the Commission observed that prisoners were sometimes responsible for the distribution and dispensing of medicines at prisons,120 risking a situation where medicines may not only be administered wrongly, but may be stolen or abused. 4.30 The Commission accordingly recommends that pharmacists be appointed to maintain accurate dispensing, distribution and related inventory records of all medicines, as well as to distribute medicines in all prisons. Prisoners with Mental Disabilities 4.31 International instruments stress the importance of prisoners’ access to psychiatric consultation and counselling. The UN Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illness and the Improvement of Mental Health Care121 in Principle 1 states that “all persons have the right to the best available mental health care, which shall be part of the health and social care system.” 4.32 With regard to prisons, Article 22 of the SMR states: “22. (1) At every institution there shall be available the services of at least one qualified medical officer who should have some knowledge of psychiatry. The medical services should be organized in close relationship to the general health administration of the community or nation. They shall include a psychiatric service for the diagnosis and, in proper cases, the treatment of states of mental abnormality. 120 121 Kajang Prison Accessed via http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/46/a46r119.htm on 29/2/16 69