Public health physician Julia Carr yesterday criticised as "barbaric" and "inhumane" the practice of "tying down" prisoners to protect them from self-harm or suicide.
Dr Carr, of Griffith University in Australia, welcomed news the "tie down" practice was to be "abolished in New Zealand prisons".
In an article published in the New Zealand Medical Journal today, Dr Carr and Paula King, of the University of Otago's Wellington campus, say the "tie down" practice is "cruel and inhumane".
The pair welcomed "the recent statement from the Department of Corrections" that the practice would be abolished in New Zealand prisons, after the media made inquiries with the department about pre-release information linked to the article.
Dr King said the "tie-down" practice was not acceptable in the health and disability sector and raised "significant ethical issues for health professionals involved".
In the article the researchers draw on two recent reports from the Chief Ombudsman that describe the prison management of people assessed at risk of self-harm or suicide as "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment".
The reports show people in prison were mechanically restrained on "tie-down" beds or in waist restraints with their hands cuffed behind their backs for long periods.
The practice occurred at the direction or with the approval of health professionals.
Dr Carr said that in such cases, the people involved "needed to be in a health setting" rather than in
prison.
Where there were serious fears for the safety of prisoners regarding self-harm or potential suicide they should be cared for in a health setting where there were more specialised facilities and resources, including health professionals, she said.
