Heavy sedatives with long-term side effects are administered to Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre inmates at more than double the rate revealed by the Government, a former nurse at the institution has told the South China Morning Post.
He also revealed that at least 90 per cent of prisoners were on regular and sometimes large doses of oral sedatives, administered to keep them in a constant state of drowsiness.
The heavy doping was often done for 'management purposes' to allow staff to cope with the large number of violent and mentally disturbed patients.
The nurse, who spent more than 10 years posted at Siu Lam, said Hospital Authority psychiatrists were only available in 'office hours'.
As a result, an on-call general practitioner employed by the Correctional Services Department was regularly required to prescribe drugs for psychotic patients over the phone.
He said sometimes the doctors were not at the centre and ordered sedatives to be administered without examining the patient.
The allegations followed attacks on Siu Lam and Stanley prisons in which claims were made about the use of drugs on prisoners. The attacks are being investigated by anti-triad detectives.
