Redacted was brought to the medical clinic yesterday and the doctor did not show up…and the burning pain in his legs never abates…
For those that are new to this email thread, please understand that I have been writing letters since October 10, (attached in this email), to advocate for my son, Redacted, who has not received adequate health care while incarcerated at the South Woods Prison in Bridgeton, NJ. To fully appreciate the timeline, I suggest that you start with the attached letter and then begin the email thread that follows.
Once again, yesterday, November 15, 2022, Redacted was brought to the medical clinic at South Woods Prison where he sat and waited with others and the doctor did not show up. Redacted told me that the doctor only comes once a month according to what he was told yesterday by staff. Does that mean everyone has to wait another month? He did not know what type of doctor was supposed to show up, but he did note that the sign in that area said “wound care.” He does not have any wounds.The fact that Redacted had no idea who he was supposed to see and for what reason is disturbing. Why isn’t this information shared with the patients so that they know what to expect?
He told me yesterday and again today, as he does every day he calls, that the pain does not abate. It is a burning pain that keeps him from falling asleep and wakes him up during the night. When he gets up in the morning, it is difficult to stand up as his feet are also affected. It hurts to walk. He tells me that his toes are numb and the swelling and redness never go away. His description today is that “it feels like his legs are on fire, like boiling water is being poured on his legs.” When was the last time a doctor examined Redacted? What is his diagnosis? Has he been evaluated by a vascular specialist? Or a neurologist as he was referred to by the doctor at St. Francis? What is causing this? Will he have long lasting side effects as a result of what is going on? Redacted also told me that he is physically and emotionally fatigued all the time. Is it any wonder? He tells me that he has no hope.
Redacted signed a medical release of information so that I can have access to his medical information. How do I gain access to his records and/or have a conversation with a doctor about what is going on with him? Redacted has still not received his own medical records after requesting them approximately three weeks ago.
Redacted also told me about an ongoing dental issue over the last couple of months. His bridge has been loose and he has had pain around the gum area. Twice, he was brought to the dental clinic and twice the attending employees could not remove the bridge. Why hasn’t there been a dentist present who can attend to this and fix his bridge? The possibility of infection is a serious issue and a huge complication with everything else that is going on with his body.
What is it going to take for Redacted to receive medical care that is in line with your pledge to provide effective, compassionate and accessible care? As I read in the American College of Correctional Physicians, in which Arthur Brewer, MD, the statewide Director of Medical Services for the Rutgers University Correctional Health is listed as a Director:
ACCP Code of Ethics
Preamble
Correctional health professionals are obligated to respect human dignity and act in ways that merit trust and prevent harm. They must ensure autonomy in decisions about their inmate-patients and promote a safe environment.
Principles
The correctional health professional shall:
– Ensure that all medical information is confidential and health care records are maintained and transported in a confidential manner.
Render medical treatment only when it is justified by an accepted medical diagnosis. Treatment and invasive procedures shall be rendered after informed consent.
– Afford inmates the right to refuse care and treatment. Involuntary treatment shall be reserved for emergency situations in which there is a grave disability and immediate threat of danger to the inmate or others.
– Provide health care to all inmates regardless of custody status.
– Evaluate the inmate as a patient or client in each and every health care encounter.
– Not be involved in any aspect of execution of the death penalty.
– Collect and analyze specimens only for diagnostic testing based on sound medical principles.
– Provide privacy of sight and sound to the degree possible without creating a risk to the provider or other individuals.
– Perform body cavity searches only after training in proper techniques and when they are not in a patient-provider relationship with the inmate.
– Identify themselves to their patients and not represent themselves as other than their professional license or certification permits.
– Honor custody functions but not participate in such activities as escorting inmates, forced transfers, security supervision, strip searches, or witnessing use of force.
– Undertake biomedical research on prisoners only when the research methods meet all federal guideline requirements (45 CFR 46) for experimentation on human subjects and individual prisoners or prison populations are expected to derive benefits from the results of the research
It seems obvious to me that there are several areas in need of change to honor this code of ethics. Redacted’s experience thus far has not even come close to the Preamble statement.
Sincerely,
Susan Guardia
