The High Court has ruled that individuals in prison have a right to access healthcare and that the service must be provided.
The court made this observation during a hearing in which the Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) appeared before the court to discuss the recruitment of 48 doctors to fill vacant positions in prisons.
The court also instructed the DG to take necessary measures to ensure that healthcare services are available to citizens at all times.
The case will be heard again on May 2, and the DG will not need to appear in person.
The attorney general requested that the court take the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic into consideration when discussing the failure to fill the doctor positions.