JAIL A HEALTH OPPORTUNITY
Access to health care is, on the list of values Canadians hold dear, rather near the top, and while this right does not go away even if a person is sentenced to a provincial jail or spending time there awaiting trial, a new report from the John Howard Society details just how complicated it is for these Canadians to get access to treatment.
Beyond any other issues, what the failure to care for inmates shows is a missed opportunity to address health issues in often vulnerable populations, which can lead to further health and social costs down the line.
This week, the Citizen reported that healthcare concerns are the number-one complaint directed to the Ontario Ombudsman’s office over the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre. Not only does health quality and care become an issue, but there are justice issues at stake. Kelly Tennier, 52, recently pleaded guilty to ensure she could get to a chemotherapy appointment.
The problem begins with responsibility: The general public gets health services from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care; prisoners get care from the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, which leads to what the report calls “a parallel yet unequal health system.”
Compounding the crisis is how ill, relative to the general Canadian population, those who land in jail are: 80 per cent of federal inmates have a substance abuse problem, more than 64 per cent are overweight or obese, 28 per cent have hepatitis C (compare that to 0.8 per cent of the general population) and those in jail die 15 years younger than their non-jailed countrymen.
But there’s a moment for intervention. Jail can, for these people, present an opportunity for treatment. But the shortage of physicians and experts mean that sometimes medication, even for serious diseases, isn’t always doled out appropriately. Simple changes, such as having electronic health records that improve continuity of care across ministries, time and institutions, would both improve access to health care for those coming through Ontario jails and improve community re-integration.
The John Howard Society recommends that health-care delivery be handed over to the same ministry that handles health care for the general population. It’s an avenue worth exploring. Yasir Naqvi, the minister of community safety and correctional services, said in a statement that the ministry is “prepared to discuss all options that will further enhance health care.”
But wholesale reform is not needed, immediately, to begin to improve access. Simple steps, at first, are the best way to go. Ontario should be taking a serious look at provincial jails and figuring out how to best apply sacred Canadian principles to incarcerated Canadians.