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| Inmates claim inadequate care |
| By Hampton Roads Daily Press |
| Published: 06/28/2004 |
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Three inmates at Hampton Roads Regional Jail in Portsmouth, Va., who suffer from mental illnesses say the jail's medical staff failed to prescribe drugs that effectively treat their conditions. For months they were wracked with feelings of hopelessness, anxiety, sleeplessness and delusional thoughts, they say. Sometimes they even wanted to harm themselves. The men didn't get the medicine they requested until the end of May, after repeated calls to the press and to an advocacy group for the mentally ill. Since then, they say they're feeling better. Hampton Roads Regional Jail holds about 1,060 inmates from Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk and Portsmouth. Of those, about 260 inmates are treated for mental illness by Prison Health Services, Inc., a private company that provides health care to inmates in 400 jails and prisons in 35 states. The quality of medical care for mentally ill inmates treated by private companies has been the subject of investigations and lawsuits throughout the country in recent years. In Virginia, officials are examining the quality of mental health care at jails and prisons to see if mentally ill inmates are receiving the proper medications. |
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