The protection of prisoners’ rights to health care services in South African law: is it adequate?

A recent newspaper article1 depicted a dismal picture of the situation behind the walls of the largest prison in the Southern hemisphere. It was revealed that at least four prisoners die of HIV/AIDS at Westville Prison every month because the Department of Correctional Services does not have the resources to provide treatment. In terms of Section 35(2)(e) of the South African Constitution prisoners are entitled to medical treatment at state expense, dependant of course on the availability of resources. The issue of the availability of resources has seen a barrage of case law being brought to the fore challenging section 35(2) (e). This article examines some of these cases and also attempts to shed light on the plight of prisoners in accessing their rights to health care services.