More than the worries of a prison life, the inmates of the Vellore Central Prison for Men are perhaps wary of the impending monsoon. The reason: monsoon season worsens the condition among asthma patients.
However, that is not their worst fears. Rather, it is the availability of only one nebuliser set, a life-saving equipment required to ease breathing difficulties, to cater to the nearly 50 asthma patients in the prison that is the cause for the worry.
Prison officials expressed their helplessness in providing proper care to the inmates. During the winter and rainy seasons, the condition of asthma patients deteriorated and with shortage of equipment, officials were apprehensive of the situation worsening.
It was in 2010 that Rotary Club donated one nebuliser to the prison after conducting a master health check-up for the prisoners and finding that 34 inmates had asthma, said a source in the prison. However, the number of asthma cases had gone up to 50 in the subsequent years.
Though nebulisers cost anything between `2,500 and `3,000, the prison administration had to follow rules and regulations and obtain permission from senior officers in the department to purchase the same. Some philanthropists came forward to donate the equipment but, with official nod pending, the offer had been put in abeyance, the source added.
Superintendent of the Prison N Arivudainambe, said, “The inmates with asthma take medicines and its only during December that we need nebulisers. The nebuliser remains idle for the rest of the year.” The hospital inside the prison had the necessary drugs to treat the prisoners, he added.
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