The importance of recognising that prison health issues are a constituent part of public health has important organisational implications. One of these is the need to ensure that prison administered health services have links that are as a close as possible with public health. In 2004 ICPS organised a seminar to discuss the policy and practical consequences of this principle. It was attended by senior representatives from the health services in England and Wales, France, Norway, and New South Wales in Australia. In these four jurisdictions responsibility for the administration of health for prisoners had at that time been transferred to the relevant health ministry.
Participants presented papers about their national experience and discussed these under the following headings:
· What was the policy environment which led to the transfer of prison health to the public health sector?
· What were the main elements of the process of transfer?
· What were the obstacles to successful implementation of the transfer?
· How can the outcomes now be evaluated?
· What advice can be given to other countries who are thinking of making a similar transfer?
ICPS published a report from the conference: Prison Health and Public Health: The integration of Prison Health Services, which can be found below.