Wednesday, August 11, 2004

Scathing Report on Prison Doctors (California)
Los Angeles Times story - "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. ... 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." [Viewing Los Angeles Times stories requires registration, which is free].