New DOD Rules Issued for Medical Personnel

[maddezmom]

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon has issued new guidelines for military medical personnel aimed at clarifying their role with prisoners. The move stems from the abuse scandals at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison and elsewhere.

The guidelines, provided to reporters Thursday, say the only role of medical personnel involved in treating detainees is to "evaluate, protect or improve their physical and mental health." They were issued by Dr. William Winkenwerder, the assistant defense secretary for health affairs.

Another set of doctors and experts — such as the psychologists, profilers and forensic pathologists who advise interrogators — are not to be involved in treating detainees, but they must still uphold the principles of humane treatment, the guidelines say.

Speaking to reporters, Winkenwerder could not say whether the guidelines mark any change from existing policy. Their purpose is to prevent any abuse in the future, he said.

~snip~
more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050616/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/prisoner_abuse_medical/nc:693;_

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Gee Louis these policies are very clear

just need to read the Conventions

[ogradda]

2. I'm not sure I understand.

What was their role supposed to be before?

[stillcool]

3. the article said...

that there were a few complaints of mistreatment by medics, and that the medics did not report abuses, and also that there were instances of medics telling interrogators the prisoners weak spots.

[maddezmom]

4. updated link: NYT: Medics Are Ordered to Report Abuse

By Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 17, 2005; Page A07

The Defense Department's top health affairs official this week instructed all medical personnel who treat detainees in U.S. custody to report any suspected inhumane treatment and to protect their patients as they would U.S. soldiers, a new set of guidelines after allegations of medic participation in abuse.

William Winkenwerder Jr., assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, also said yesterday that allegations of medical personnel being involved in or failing to report detainee abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan and at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are being examined by the Army's surgeon general. Winkenwerder said cases of medics knowing about abuse have surfaced, but he declined to discuss specifics of Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley's inquiry and said it is not a criminal investigation.


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In Kiley's ongoing "assessment" of how medical personnel are involved, a "very small number of reports of observation of some abuse were seen thus far," Winkenwerder said. He said Kiley, who is also commander of the Army's Medical Command at Fort Sam Houston, Tex., has collected 1,000 sworn statements. Human rights groups have alleged that military doctors and nurses were at least complicit in unethical and possibly illegal interrogation plans, and the Army's inquiries into abuse have revealed that some medical workers knew about abuse but did not report it.

A spokesman for the Army's Medical Command did not return calls late yesterday.

Winkenwerder said yesterday that the new guidelines are intended to fill gaps identified in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal and to ensure that U.S. medical personnel treat detainees with "professional judgments and standards similar to those that would be applied to personnel of the U.S. Armed Forces." He said the guidelines "reaffirm" long-standing principles and create one document to erase confusion.

~snip~
more; http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/16/AR2005061601509.html