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| Scathing report issued on prison doctors |
| By Los Angeles Times |
| Published: 08/11/2004 |
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Incompetent doctors, including some with a history of substance abuse or mental health problems, have been hired by California's prison system and have contributed to serious deficiencies in healthcare for inmates, according to a federal court report released Tuesday. At one facility, half of the eight doctors had prior criminal charges, loss of privileges at community hospitals or mental health problems, the panel said. At another, seven of 20 doctors had similar problems. "There appears to be an emerging pattern of inadequate and seriously deficient physician quality" in prisons, a panel of experts said in a letter to U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson, who ordered the report as part of a civil rights suit alleging substandard medical care for inmates. A panel of two doctors and a nurse practitioner conducted reviews of medical treatment at about half a dozen of the state's 32 prisons. They concluded in a July 16 letter to the judge that the department had hired many incompetent doctors with a history of problems, then failed to monitor them, putting inmates at serious risk of injury or death. "The only requirement for hiring is a medical license," said the letter. California Department of Corrections officials said they were formulating a plan that would improve prison medical services, the fastest-growing part of the $5.7-billion state prison budget. "There will be remedial training and greater clinical supervision ... and a stricter adherence to department policies," said spokeswoman Margot Bach. "The department ... takes the healthcare of inmates very seriously." The panel concluded that many doctors were not trained to administer the treatments they were providing inmates, some with serious illnesses. The report did not name the prisons or the doctors. |
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