A number of changes are set to take place at Corradino Correctional Facility to better cater for inmates with a disability, Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela said yesterday.
There are seven disabled inmates, with varied disabilities such as blindness, hearing loss, mobility problems and obesity.
Mr Abela said that, over the past few months, a number of changes had already been made to cater for inmates with disabilities.
Two ramps – one at the entrance and another leading to the chapel – were installed and a cell was modified to accommodate wheelchair users.
Obese inmates were being encouraged to participate in specialised physical activity classes.
A six-week course kicked off this week to train new prison warders, who are also being given ethical guidance on how to treat disabled people.
Mr Abela said that “more work” was needed for inmates with mental health problems, adding that their dignity should be respected.
“We also need to improve the services for inmates when they are first admitted into the facility. Each inmate must be assessed by a multidisciplinary team comprising social workers, doctors and psychologists.
“We must identify their needs so they can be successfully rehabilitated and to reduce their chances of relapse.”
The minister noted that the Gender Identity Bill, which will now be debated in second reading in Parliament, would give transsexual prisoners the right to choose whether to be in the male or female divisions.
The chairman of the National Commission Persons with Disability, Oliver Scicluna, said the KNPD would be conducting an audit and training staff in disability equality training.
“Disabled people are not angels, they make mistakes and might need to spend time in the correctional facility. We are here to ensure that disabled inmates are treated equally as the rest,” he said.
Asked about what type of improvements he wishes to see, Mr Scicluna said he wanted to ensure that disabled inmates were not idle but actively engaged in community work like other inmates.
Computers and other equipment should also be made available to disabled people, he added.
The Parliamentary Secretary for Rights of Persons with Disability, Justyne Caruana, said disabled people were an integral part of society and could therefore also be found in prison.
“Last month, we launched a policy on the rights of disabled people. The next step is to start concrete implementation.” Through Aġenzija Sapport, the government would be recruiting sign language interpreters, she said.
The CCF’s chief executive, operations, Simon Buttigieg, told this newspaper the prison was planning to get a nutritionist on board to overhaul the menus and include more healthy dishes.