Denying Meds

[Faith Nurse]

I have recently spoke to a nurse who works in a detention center. I was surprised to find that if you become arrested you can be denied your medication, even if it is something you cannot just d/c like Paxil. The nurse I spoke to said it's just that way; I have a difficult time accepting that answer.

My very sweet next-door neighbor was arrested for drinking and driving -- he was on injections for schizophrenia -- he committed suicide, due to the fact he was going to jail and would be denied his injections (like he has in the past for same offense). I'm really concerned, even if these people have broken the law.

Has anyone heard of this before?? And can anyone explain why this is???

Thanks in advance =)

[crjnursewarrior]

I work at a drug and alcohol inpateint facility for adults. Out of approx. 100 clts, half are level fours, meaning they came from prison and if they are kicked out or try to leave on their own, they are sent back to prison. At my work I am what thy call a chemical dependency techincian (CDT, for short). My duties consist of observing and reporting, however, we are also med certified to assist the clt with medication. I have been there for over 3 years now. We have nurses on staff but they are not there around the clock. My point for explaining all this is, that we are not allowed to deny any clt their medication, this includes inmates. Even if it is a PRN. In fact, about a year ago, a CDT told a clt that they had to come back later for their PRN b/c she was busy, and needless to say she did get into trouble for this.

To deny a pt or clt medication is considered a PM-46 in the state which I live. The PM-46 is basicaly, abuse, maltreatment, or neglect to the pt or clt, and this again, includes inmtes.

Now, I have never worked in a prison, so, I do not know how they handle this there, but I would be surprised if they are actually allowed by law to deny an inmate their med. I do know that for meds like, methadone, they are not given in prison.

I must say that for me, even if a person is convicted of a crime they still do not deserve to be neglected. Granted, some of them may be really horrible people, but we still are there to care for them in this manner. Again, though, I have never been in that situation, so I couldn't say what I would or wouldn't do.

You are right...these inmates are NOT denied their meds, sometimes there is a substitution from a formulary...if they NEED it they are given it. Also any inmate that is chemically dependent is detoxed from the substance. They may NOT like it because they are not given Methadone or whatever else they are given on the streets to feed their addiction, but they are safely detoxed from any drugs/alcohol.

[crjnursewarrior]

:rotfl:

Wow... what a bunch of judgmental nursing "professionals".

Personally, I don't care what they've done or have been accused of doing. In the county jail setting, most of them have only been charged and not tried or sentenced. I give them the SAME care and consideration I give now that I work with a different population. I personally made sure ANY inmate who wished to see the doctor or should see the doctor was placed on the sick call list. I am especially pushy about HIV + inmates even if I know they are known drug users and don't comply with thier med regimen. Nonetheless, this a nursing forum and where we are all professionals, we are all human first. Everyone has the right to vent their frustrations from time to time without their professionalism being questioned. Anyway, when you note judgement aren't you in fact passing judgement as well? Corrections is not the easiest place to work for ANY nurse unless you are void of feeling anything at all. Either you hate it or you love it. If you hate it, go and if you love it, stay and and make a difference.

EVERYONE is entitled to adequate medical care NO MATTER WHAT!

Jamangel is right on here....good correctional nurses treat the patient, not the charge. What they are convicted of is IRRELEVANT to the treatment they get. Targa acts as if we actually treat them based on our opinions. This is simply not so. We are duty-bound, if nothing else, to treat illness and do no harm. We take an oath. We treat all inmates based on assessment of the facts and their actual NEEDS...again...NOT their WANTS. I have said this OVER and OVER. They ALL WANT 2nd mattresses and Oxycontin for their back pain, but NONE of them NEED that. If an inmate NEEDS a 2nd mattress or narcotic pain medication, they get it. This is based on the assessment of the doctor and the nurses working with him/her. We see these people on a daily basis. We have learned to weed out the garbage, to sift through the manipulation to see the REAL medical problems. This is something a good correctional nurse HAS to become adept at. 90% of the complaints you hear from inmates are garbage...trying to get something thaty don't really NEED. It is our job to differentiate between WANT and NEED. It is our job to see that the 10% who are NOT faking get what they really NEED. And they are given that. As I have said, I feel that the care inmates get is more than adequate, especially since they pay NOTHING for it. Just a few more rantings from my soapbox!!

[nurseT]

EXACTLY, I HAVE SEEN ENOUGH SICK PEOPLE AND ENOUGH FAKERS TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE. I DO WANT TO KNOW THE CHARGES. IT DOES NOT HINDER CARE BUT ASSISTS IN UNDERSTANDING THE PATIENT/INMATE. IF THE INMATE COMPLAINS OF ANXIETY AND WANTS ANXIETY MEDS, THEN I FIND OUT THE INMATE IS A METH ADDICT, THIS GIVES MORE INSIGHT TO THE REAL PROBLEM. THE INMATE NEEDS TO BE INSTRUCTED ON THE SIDE EFFECTS OF METH RE: PARANOIA AND ANXIETY. THEY NEED TO KNOW THAT IF THEY HAVE BEEN HIGH FOR MONTHS, THEY WON'T LIKE BEING STRAIGHT AND ALL NORMAL RESPONSES WILL SEEM FORIEGN TO THEM. THEY NEED TO REALISE NORMAL RESPONSES DO NOT REQUIRE TREATMENT. ALSO, THEY NEED TO KNOW THAT JAIL IS NOT FUN BUT A TERRIBLE SITUATION AND NORMAL RESPONSES TO A TERRIBLE SITUATION ALSO DO NOT REQUIRE TREATMENT. THAT ALMOST ALWAYS MAKES THEM CALL THEIR MAMMA AND CLAIM THEY HAVE BEEN DENIED TREATMENT. OF COURSE THE MOMMA IS BROKEN HEARTED AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT THE INMATE WANTS. ALSO, OTHER PEOPLE NEED TO REALISE, A JAIL IS A JAIL. IT IS NOT A HEALTHCARE FACILITY. THE RULES ARE DIFFERENT. THEY ARE NOT THERE BECAUSE THEY ARE SICK. THEY ARE THERE TO SERVE TIME FOR CRIME. MEDICAL TREATMENT IS AVAILABLE, ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS ASK. DOES THE DOCTOR IN THE COMMUNITY GO TRACK HIS PATIENTS DOWN AND FORCE HEALTH CARE WHEN THE PATIENT DID'NT BOTHER TO SHOW UP? NO, BUT I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW MANY TIMES I HAVE BALLED OUT AN INMATE WHO LAYED IN HIS BUNK, SICKER THAN A DOG, INFECTING EVERYBODY ELSE AND NEVER SAID A WORD. HOPING HE WOULD GET SICK ENOUGH TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL. THEY WILL EVEN TAKE THE PUS FROM ANOTHER PERSON'S SORE AND TRY TO INFECT THEMSELVES WITH IT SO THEY CAN GET SICK ON PURPOSE. THEN THEY WILL WRITE THE STATE HEALTH DEPT AND MAKE A FORMAL COMPLAINT. THAT IS JAIL. THESE PEOPLE ARE CRIMINALS WITH CRIMINAL MINDS. ALSO, WHEN I GET AN INMATE WHO IS AN OBVIUOS MENTAL PATIENT WHO IS HELPLESS, THAT PERSON GETS EVERYTHING THEY NEED FROM ME AND THEN SOME. ANYONE WHO IS TRULY SICK GETS ALL THEY NEED FROM ME. THE ONES WHO CALL ME A ***** WERE THE FAKERS. IF THEY NEED DETOXED, THEY GET THAT, BUT THE DRUGS DON'T JUST KEEP FLOWING SO THEY DON'T HAVE TO COPE WITH BEING IN JAIL.

:rotfl:

Jamangel is right on here....good correctional nurses treat the patient, not the charge. What they are convicted of is IRRELEVANT to the treatment they get. Targa acts as if we actually treat them based on our opinions. This is simply not so. We are duty-bound, if nothing else, to treat illness and do no harm. We take an oath. We treat all inmates based on assessment of the facts and their actual NEEDS...again...NOT their WANTS. I have said this OVER and OVER. They ALL WANT 2nd mattresses and Oxycontin for their back pain, but NONE of them NEED that. If an inmate NEEDS a 2nd mattress or narcotic pain medication, they get it. This is based on the assessment of the doctor and the nurses working with him/her. We see these people on a daily basis. We have learned to weed out the garbage, to sift through the manipulation to see the REAL medical problems. This is something a good correctional nurse HAS to become adept at. 90% of the complaints you hear from inmates are garbage...trying to get something thaty don't really NEED. It is our job to differentiate between WANT and NEED. It is our job to see that the 10% who are NOT faking get what they really NEED. And they are given that. As I have said, I feel that the care inmates get is more than adequate, especially since they pay NOTHING for it. Just a few more rantings from my soapbox!!

[nurseT]

Oops, Sorry About What's Under The Stars. Forgot.