British Expert on Penitentiary Healthcare Reforms

Minister of Corrections and Legal Assistance of Georgia (MCLA) –Khatuna Kalmakhelidze, and Minister of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia, Zurab Chiaberashvili met with a British expert on health issues John Boyington.

Ongoing prison healthcare achievements, reforms and future perspectives were discussed at the meeting.

The British expert is engaged in monitoring the ongoing healthcare reforms within the Georgian penitentiary system and is providing relevant recommendations.

According to Kalmakhelidze, involvement of such a high-level consultant and his recommendations are very important to the MCLA, as ensuring full access to healthcare and its equivalence with the quality and standards of that of the civil sector is one of the most important priorities of the Ministry.

In the framework of the visit, Boyington met with representatives of the health sector and visited penitentiary establishments.

For many years, Boyington worked as the head of Prison Health in the British National Healthcare Service, the executive director of the WHO Collaborating Center on penitentiary healthcare. He is the Knight of the Order of Chivalry of the British Empire.
(MCLA)