Adiala inmates allege Panadol being given for every illness

RAWALPINDI: Prisoners and undertrial inmates held at Adiala Jail have complained that the prison hospital and medical staff are handing out two Panadol tablets for nearly every health complaint, according to inmates produced before Rawalpindi’s sessions, civil and special courts and their relatives.

They said the ongoing heat had caused many prisoners to become unwell. Inmates claimed that barracks housing around 300 prisoners had only two or three fans installed, and that the fans were blowing hot air. According to the complaints, prisoners suffering from nosebleeds, headaches, flu, fever, malaria and other minor illnesses linked to the severe weather were being given only two Panadol tablets.

Some inmates alleged that "Panadol has become the cure for every disease."

Relatives of prisoners, including Sherbaz Khan, Mastung Shah and Gulfraz, also said female inmates were facing women-related health issues but were being examined by male doctors, who prescribed medicines such as Panadol and Disprin. They demanded that teams of doctors from government hospitals visit the jail every week during the heatwave and provide proper medicines, and also called for two special teams of female doctors to visit weekly. The inmates and relatives further appealed to philanthropists to donate room coolers, fans and blocks of ice for the prison. However, jail hospital staff denied the allegations.