Patient commentary: Incarceration is dehumanising, but good healthcare can restore dignity

I arrived in prison a cocaine addict with a £2000 (€2390; $2580) a week habit. My daily consumption was so extreme that I supplemented it with copious amounts of Xanax to “take the edge off.” The reception prison doctor’s eyes bulged in disbelief, telling me that I could die from a seizure if I wasn’t properly detoxed.Like many others, I was oblivious to the physical danger I’d been in, having neglected my health for years in addiction. I was grateful for the little cupful of benzodiazepine liquid handed though the “meds hatch” each day. It barely took the edge off the nightmare I was living, but at least I didn’t die.That was the start of a long journey for me, during which I freed myself from the addiction that had landed me a four year prison sentence. One positive aspect of being in custody is access to the healthcare that your lifestyle may have denied you in the community. During my first rehab course in prison, one participant told me that coming to prison was like having an MOT. It was a chance for you to take care of yourself, fix a few things, and get healthy.