Women held at Rusca prison to enjoy high quality medical assistance

The 273 women who serve sentences in the Penitentiary No. 7 in Rusca will benefit from medical services of a high quality provided by a medical center outfitted with modern equipment and furniture, Info-Prim Neo reports. The center includes a special section for detainees-mothers. Their children who will stay with them in prison until they turn three. There will be a gynecology office, a dentist's, an internal therapy-medicine office and a clinical laboratory for tests. Lieutenant colonel Alina Stavila, the head of the medical service, said three nurses, two therapists, a psychiatrist, a gynecologist and a dentist work at the penitentiary at present. The women prisoners suffer mainly from mental disorders, cardiovascular diseases, diseases of the respiratory apparatus and urogenital diseases. The center's stock contains medications enough for a year. “Until present, the doctor examined us more visually. Now things have changed. We need quality medical assistance and this center is welcome. We suffer from joint pain,” said Raisa, a detainee. “The things changed to the better. Now we will be able to do tests and the diagnosis will be more precise. At my age, I need consultations more often as a suffer from a lot of chronic diseases,” said another detainee, Lilia. Iurie Turcanu, the head of the supervision and regime service, said 54 of the 273 detainees are now going through an adaptation period, four are minors, four are small children, while one is pregnant. The women were imprisoned for murder, trafficking in human beings, theft and swindles. Many of the female prisoners work at the sewing and embroidery workshop. They get a maximum salary of 2,000 lei. In 2008, the medical center was renovated by the Government and was now outfitted with modern equipment and furniture purchased with money offered by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Moldova. During 2008-2009, UNFPA has provided 400,000 lei worth of technical assistance to the center.