Speedy improvements sought for CT prison healthcare system
Advocates for people behind bars in Connecticut say they want swift changes to the state’s prison health care system. An Office of the Correction Ombuds report from earlier this year found nearly 1,600 people in prison awaiting appointments for off-site medical treatment. The latest report showed the office received around 2,000 complaints about the Department of Correction’s health services. Barbara Fair, executive director of the group Stop Solitary CT, said it has been a long-standing problem. "People have waited for years to get specialty services. People reportedly have died waiting for services and many have gone home with so many diseases and chronic illnesses as the result of medical neglect," Fair pointed out. The state has enacted a new law to improve prison healthcare. It takes a multifaceted approach, requiring the state to provide medically necessary procedures at on-site or off-site facilities and to keep electronic health records. It also creates a Correction Medical and Health Commission to draft a 10-year plan to improve medical, nutrition, behavioral health and healthcare services for incarcerated people. Fair's group said other changes are needed, including hiring more healthcare professionals to work for the Department of Corrections. She noted some people have left the
