Dept Appeals Against Court Decision
Veronica Mohapeloa, BuaNews (Tshwane)
2006-06-28
The correctional services department has been granted leave to appeal against the High Court ruling compelling the department to provide antiretrovirals to Durban-Westville inmates.
About 15 prisoners at the Westville Prison and the Treatment Action Campaign
(TAC) had brought an urgent application last month before the Durban High Court,
asking it to order the department to increase access to ARV therapy to
prisoners.
Yesterday, Judge Thumba Pillay who is a father to one of the attorneys
representing the applicants, ordered the department to immediately start
providing ARV therapy.
Correctional Services spokesperson, Luphumzo Kebeni told BuaNews today that
his department would launch an appeal against the ruling and also on the ground
that it was unethical for Judge Pillay to have heard the case
because he had a relationship with one of the lawyers representing the
applicants.
There is a level of an unethical conduct on the part of the judge. We
had asked him to recuse himself and he had refused.
So we are appealing against the ruling and the judge's refusal to
recuse himself, said Mr Khebeni.
He also reiterated his department's position on the provision of ARVs.
We are not saying we do not want to provide antiretrovirals to inmates,
as in Durban Westville there are inmates [already] who are on ARVs and have gone
through the process of diagnosis and prognosis [according to government's
comprehensive plan]. .
However, Mr Kebeni said the inmates who took the department to court were
demanding to receive the treatment without having gone through the
assessment as required by national guidelines.
That cannot be done because that would be putting their health at risk.
So the manner in which the judgment was made compels us [the department] to do
the opposite of what is required in terms of the national guidelines, he
said.
The appeal is expected to be heard in the Durban High Court next week.
Government's Comprehensive Plan for the Care, Treatment and Management of HIV
stipulates that ARVs have to be administered to people who are symptomatic
and/or whose CD4 count is less than 200, as not everyone who is HIV-positive
requires the drugs.
People are then counselled and offered the option of the antiretroviral
therapy, with full information regarding side effects, the benefits of restoring
the immune system and improving their quality of life.
This has to be done at accredited sites, service points giving access to a
range of care and treatment, integrated with the prevention and awareness
campaign.
Correctional Services has three accredited sites to provide ARV treatment to
inmates.
The first was established at Grootvlei Prison in the Free State earlier this
year, followed by Qalakabusha and Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal in
partnership with health departments in those provinces.
Presenting the department's budget vote in Parliament last month, deputy
minister Loretta Jacobs said strides were being made to accredit even more sites
in this regard.
In the interim, attempts are being made to transport inmates to the
nearest ARV sites to receive such medication, said Ms Loretta.
In addition to this, the department is undertaking a survey to determine the
prevalence of HIV infection among offenders and staff. It is expected the survey
results will be available in October.
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