Female inmates in the Los Angeles County jail system have waited weeks, even months, before receiving medical treatment that should have been provided within 24 hours of their requests for help, according to a monitor's report released Friday.
Additionally, Sheriff's Department officials have inadequate written policies on how to treat sick or pregnant women housed in their jail facilities, according to Merrick Bobb, a special counsel hired by the county Board of Supervisors to monitor the department.
For instance, Bobb noted that the department has no policy forbidding the shackling of a female inmate during childbirth even though state law prohibits it.
Although deputies told Bobb's staff that they generally don't shackle women giving birth, a county hospital delivery nurse said "leg chains, which are heavy but long enough to allow the inmate to get to the bathroom, are often present during childbirth," the report stated. Bobb recommended that the department adopt a policy that conforms with state law.
In his semiannual report to the Board of Supervisors, Bobb also recommended that "every woman who asks for medical attention or to see a nurse gets to do so within 24 hours of the request," in compliance with national standards for jails and prisons set by the National Corrections Commission on Correctional Health Care.
In response to the report, Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Whitmore said department officials have decided to implement a new procedure ensuring that female inmates get to see a medical worker within 24 hours of their requests. He said the department plans to extend the number of hours that nurses are made available to inmates.
Whitmore, however, disputed suggestions that women were shackled during childbirth. He said restraints are only used on inmates who have mental health problems.
Each year, the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood houses more than 30,000 women and averages about 2,000 women in custody daily. Many women are sick when they arrive, Bobb said. And, he noted, the jail treats as many as 1,400 pregnant women a year.
Though he praised the dedication of the jail's medical staff, Bobb said sheriff's officials needed to implement clearer policies for nurses, deputies and other staffers on how to provide women with proper care.
He said there were not enough nurses and other medical staffers to accommodate the inmates' needs. And, he said, the county has also been slow to fill many of the vacant medical employee positions in the jails.
