Doctors should not declare anyone fit to be held in immigration detention centres

On 4 February 2024, a 22 year old Guinean man died by suicide in Ponte Galeria detention centre in Rome, Italy. In the previous weeks he had been transferred from another immigration detention centre, despite his poor mental health and the risk of self-harm being extensively documented.1 This case illuminates the urgency of denouncing the inadequate and unsuitable conditions within these facilities, which expose people detained there to serious health risks, or premature death.2In 2022, the World Health Organisation Regional Office for Europe published a document describing the health risks for people subject to immigration detention.3 WHO confirms that detention sites across Europe constitute a substantive risk for the mental health of detainees, risk the spread of infectious diseases, and adhere to low quality standards in managing non-communicable diseases. Studies highlight how immigration detention erodes people’s health status by exposing them to unsuitable conditions and barriers to accessing healthcare.4 In…
Read Original Article: Doctors should not declare anyone fit to be held in immigration detention centres »