With health care access for people in correctional facilities declining during the pandemic, City Council members made commitments to improve conditions.
Their efforts have been stymied by conflicting accounts from city agencies and criminal justice advocates. In a council criminal justice committee meeting Wednesday, Corrections Commissioner Louis Molina said that inmates at Rikers Island requesting a sick call had only an eight-minute wait to see a medical professional. However, that doesn't paint an accurate picture, according to advocates.
The wait time is measured only "anecdotally by DOC and is only when a person arrives at a medical facility," Rivera said. Health access declined for inmates last year, officials said.
A separate report from city Comptroller Brad Lander, published Wednesday, said the number of missed appointments peaked at 15, in July They need escorts and require protection, especially requiring correctional officers to bring the patients to our clinic.
Any patient with acute needs requiring hospitalization had been able to do so, however, Yang said. To even begin to address the issue, data is needed, Rivera said, but the numbers have not been forthcoming. The council has asked the Department of Corrections and Correctional Health Services twice in the past 10 days for information as to how many individuals make their appointments, how many require medical care while in custody and how many have chronic illnesses that require supervision.
