SURREY - Surrey's police committee on Monday awarded a $2.16 million contract to Calian Ltd. to provide medical services for prisoners within the Surrey RCMP's cellblock for the next three years.
The coverage will be 24/7. Calian Ltd. wlll provide one registered nurse 24/7, and a physician on call 24/7. Surrey RCMP Chief Supt. Bill Fordy noted his detachment deals with roughly 6,000 prisoners each year. As a group, he said, prisoners often present a higher health risk than the general population for such things as substance abuse, mental health issues and contagious diseases.
A report to the committee noted Surrey has had four in-custody deaths over the past nine years.
Following a coroner's inquest in 2013, the jury recommended that a nurse or medical practitioner be present in the cellblock on a 24-hour basis.
It's expected Calian Ltd.'s service will be implemented within eight months to a year.
Tom Zytaruk