Tibetan Prisoners in Good Health

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, May 27, 2002

Tibetan Prisoners in Good Health

Wang Huadong is proud of his prison'srecord. "We have not had a single case of a prisoner dying because of alack of medical treatment. It would be against the law for one thing," he states.

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Wang Huadong is proud of his prison'srecord. "We have not had a single case of a prisoner dying because of alack of medical treatment. It would be against the law for one thing," he states.

But the director of Tibet's largest prison admits the good health of the inmates comes at a price -- 200,000 yuan a year (24,000 U.S. dollars) to treat prisoners in its own clinic and another800,000 yuan (100,000 dollars) for treating more serious illnessesin local hospitals.

The Tibet Regional Prison covers all the medical expenses of inmates, although prison officers must pay some of the cost of their own medical care.

Wang's boast of the prison's health record is born out by the inmates.

"No one in this prison has died because they lacked medical treatment. What the Dalai clique has spread on the prison life in Tibet is untrue," says prisoner Rinzin.

"Prisoners are provided with good medical care. I have seen other sick inmates receive wonderful treatment," he adds.

The Tibet Regional Prison has had its own clinic, dealing with common diseases, with 13 well-trained doctors working there since it opened.

Dawa Sangbo, the clinic head, shows off the wide range of medical equipment and the pharmacy stocked with 300 commonly used medicines. It also has consultation and treatment rooms catering for an estimated 70-80 patients a day.

At dinner time, a Tibetan nurse named Basang is giving an inmate an injection.

She rubs the patient's right arm with a cotton swab, saying, "Take it easy. It will be okay soon. There isn't much pain." Then, she skillfully inserts the needle, pressing down the cotton swab and telling the patient to keep still.

"We have a round-the-clock service. All doctors and nurses are humane to inmates coming to the clinic," Basang says.

"It doesn't matter if I miss dinner -- the patient should be treated immediately. Though they are prisoners, they are patients as well in my eyes. I must be responsible for their health," she adds.

Dainzin Jinme, a prisoner who suffered from lumbar tuberculosis,says, "I felt pain sometimes in my waist before I was jailed. Whenthe prison hospital diagnosed the problem, it sent me to the General Hospital of the Regional Chinese People's Liberation Army for medical treatment and allowed my family to visit me.

"Over the past three years, the prison has spent 70,000 to 80,000 yuan on the treatment."

Bazhaxi, another inmate, says, "I suddenly felt a stomachache around 3:00 am on May 15. Dawa Norbu, the prison officer on duty, carried me on his back to the prison clinic. A doctor in the clinic gave me some pills and the pain gradually disappeared.

"I slept well after taking the pills. But I heard afterwards Dawa Norbu stayed with me all night without rest," the inmate recalls.

"We don't hesitate to wake the prison officer when we are sick.It is common for the prison to spend thousands of yuan on treatingserious diseases," he adds.

An official in charge of prison management says the prisons in Lhasa and Bomi also have their own clinics. Each spends over one million yuan on treating inmates.

Wang admits medical conditions are not as good as in other parts of China. It is still difficult for the prison clinics to treat some serious diseases as a result of the high altitude, but he believes prisoner healthcare in Tibet is getting better all thetime.

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