|
|
| Ohio inmate suit calls health care inadequate |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 10/20/2003 |
|
A doctor hired by the state of Ohio to help improve inmate health care started a weeklong review last week, a day after a lawsuit was filed claiming prisoners receive inadequate medical treatment because state officials are deliberately indifferent to their needs. The lawsuit filed in Cincinnati federal court on behalf of three prisoners says the inadequate health and dental care is unconstitutional because it constitutes "cruel and unusual punishment." Lawyers for Cincinnati-based Prison Reform Advocacy Center asked a U.S. District Court judge to make the lawsuit a class action to represent all Ohio inmates with similar problems. State prison officials had not seen the lawsuit and could not discuss it, spokeswoman JoEllen Culp said. The lawsuit says prisons have failed to provide proper emergency care to critically ill inmates who later died and have hired incompetent medical providers with disciplinary problems and criminal backgrounds. Prisoners have had to wait weeks or months to obtain approvals for routine medical screenings, specialty consultations and diagnostic tests, the lawsuit said. It contends that prisoners suffer from medical- and dental staffing shortages, and use of less effective and cheaper drugs and procedures. Ohio has 44,621 prisoners in 33 prisons, including two that are privately operated for the state. Gov. Bob Taft ordered the review of prison medical care after reports of wrongful deaths, inadequate care and questionable doctors from an investigation by The Columbus Dispatch and WBNS-TV in Columbus. Dr. Steven S. Spencer, a former New Mexico state prison medical director, said he examined Ohio prison records before his visit. He met yesterday with prison officials in Columbus and plans to visit at least three prisons before leaving Oct. 23. Spencer said he planned to visit at least an Ohio State University Medical Center unit that serves prisoners, the women's prison in Marysville and the Pickaway Correctional Institution southwest of Columbus. He is to deliver his report to Ohio prisons Director Reginald Wilkinson by the end of November. |
advertise
|
privacy policy
|
add URL
|
about us
|
terms/disclaimer
|
contact us
|
join our team
|
help
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think