On Nov. 2, the Nagoya Regional Immigration Services Bureau launched an expert panel to seek ways to improve medical care at its detention facility. Wishma Sandamali, a 33-year-old Sri Lankan woman, died at the facility in March. The panel will write a proposal after considering how the facility could ensure access to a doctor and coordinate with outside healthcare institutions.
According to the report on the case released by the Immigration Services Agency in August, the detention facility only had a part-time physician, who worked two hours a day twice a week.
The report said the facility’s medical care system needed to be completely overhauled. The report suggested the facility should: (1) ensure better access to medical care, such as permanently stationing a doctor at the facility; (2) coordinate with outside medical institutions; and (3) upgrade the facility’s medical equipment.