IF YOU END UP IN THE DONETSK PRE-TRIAL DETENTION CENTRE – SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR LUNGS

The list of problems related to the spread of tuberculosis in Ukraine in general and in the Donetsk Pre-trial Detention Centre No. 5 in particular is extensive. If the previous article outlined the difficulties in funding and legislative shortcomings, now it is worth naming other urgent problems.
Hanna and Oleh, who were held in the Donetsk Pre-trial Detention Centre No. 5, shared what they know about this place. It turns out there are two posts on the fourth floor, where those suffering from tuberculosis are held – one for the sick and one for the dying. “Inspections do not go there, to this second post; it goes without saying that even doctors appear there rarely,” Oleh smiles bitterly.
As for the sick women, one of their cells is located right on the women’s floor, confirms Hanna. Of course, if premises with sick and healthy women are on the same floor, then the potential danger of falling ill will always exist. Hanna says that earlier the women’s tuberculosis “hata” (cell) was on this same fourth floor, where the sick men are kept, but then they made a hole between the cells (it is called a “kabura” – with the emphasis on the first syllable). Then abortions, not injections, were the main medical procedure (it is no secret that in places of deprivation of liberty, sex is one of the most cherished dreams of prisoners).
If we are to mention the medical aspect, then everything here is quite complicated. Medicines in such institutions are a deficit. “Relatives can send them, but in a limited quantity. Furthermore, not all of them, because there is a certain list of prohibited preparations. Although for the tuberculosis patients, there are some foreign pills. These are very powerful antibiotics. They were sent to me via the ‘road’ when I was very ill,” says Hanna (the “road” is a special thread or fishing line that carries communication between floors and cells; it is located outside the window, and via it, one can pass not only food and notes, but also medicines).
“True, these medicines are very powerful; they have side effects, the liver suffers greatly, but that worries few people,” Oleh laid out his observations. “And also, as far as I know, doctors in the pre-trial detention centre receive a small salary from the state, so they sell a large part of these medications on the outside.”
This looks not like an observation, but an accusation. Volodymyr Shalashyn, head of the medical department of the Administration of the State Department for the Execution of Sentences in the Donetsk region, responds to this. He and his department are responsible for the treatment of patients in the pre-trial detention centre.
“Currently, the prosecutor’s office has cancelled the acts on not accepting the severely ill. In the Donetsk Pre-trial Detention Centre No. 5, out of 149 men suffering from tuberculosis who are held on a separate floor, 4-5 are severely ill. When people reach us, we conduct an examination. A healthy person does not get into a cell with the sick. However, often the police, after an examination, bring a person and say they are healthy, and then it turns out they are ill after all. Those who can infect others, we place in a separate cell.” This, of course, is not a way out, but the severely ill are held separately.
As has already been said in the previous article, tuberculosis patients should not be in the pre-trial detention centre at all due to the lack of appropriate conditions. But the reality is that sick women are indeed located on the same floor with healthy ones, says Shalashyn. “In the Donetsk pre-trial detention centre, there are 6 women suffering from tuberculosis now. They are held at a separate post, 24.04, on the women’s floor. But all of them have a non-contagious form.”
Also, the head of the medical department assured that, at the very least, the pre-trial detention centre and the whole region are supplied with medical preparations 100%. First-line preparations, the standard course of treatment, are received by all patients. “Now, the pre-trial detention centre No. 5 is fully supplied with bactericidal lamps. They have quite high effectiveness, so the infection is almost not spreading,” believes Volodymyr Shalashyn.
The transfer of medicines from relatives is a complicated procedure. “If it is semi-officially, through one of the employees, then, of course, the medicines might not arrive. But if it happens through a medical officer on a designated day, then the person will receive everything. There is also a list of prohibited preparations, for example, some medicines for colds that relatives send have narcotic components in their composition. Those, we do not pass on. In general, there are no problems with tuberculosis medicines,” concludes Mr Shalashyn.
Public figure and head of the Donetsk city public organisation “Memorial”, Alexander Bukalov, has for many years been looking after people behind bars, their rights, and problems. He says that according to statistics, currently in Ukraine as a whole, approximately 7,500 prisoners are suffering from a severe form of tuberculosis, and their percentage in the Donetsk region is much higher than in other regions.
He comments on the words that even a doctor does not visit some posts as follows: “Imagine that you have a one-and-a-half-year-old child, and you need to enter the room of a patient who has an open form. The Pre-trial Detention Centre No. 5 lacks appropriate conditions; safety rules are not followed, because tuberculosis patients should not be there. Annually in Ukraine, 3-5 medical workers are infected with tuberculosis in a pre-trial detention centre or a temporary detention facility. It is not surprising that they treat the sick with fear.”
Regarding medicines, the situation is interesting here. The head of “Memorial” shared his own experience and told such a story: “I was walking through the city centre recently and ran into a person whose measure of punishment had been changed; they were in the pre-trial detention centre, and now they are at liberty. The man asked me for money; I gave a little and asked about his health, because I remember he had tuberculosis. ‘Do not even ask,’ he replied, ‘in the pre-trial detention centre they at least treated me, but here everything is only getting worse.’ Such a sad reality befell a destitute person,” sighed Alexander Bukalov.
It seems everything is not that bad – medicines in the pre-trial detention centre exist, 100% of patients receive proper treatment. But what is to be done with the healthy people behind the bars of the pre-trial detention centre who can also get infected? This question remains unresolved.