Preventable deaths while incarcerated.

[toomuchbaloney]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/28/us/alabama-gangrene-madison-county-jail-lawsuits/index.html?hpt=us_c2

3 inmates died in the same facility from constipation, complications of gangrene, and DTs. All of them were in a medical observation area.

[DawnJ]

I really hope to hear the other side of this. I can't believe nobody checked on that guy with the rotting foot. Poor charting, I hope

but here's reinforcement that if it isn't documented, it isn't done

[TraumaORnurse]

Sadly I'm not surprised. I recently had 2 young, otherwise healthy prisoners nearly die due to poor care while in prison.

The first was in a fight & his head rammed into a cement wall. Per records, he immediately complained of a headache with nausea/vomiting. He was taken to the obs unit where he lay minimally conscious for 18 hrs until the doctor came in, assessed him and noted he was non-responsive & had a blown pupil. He was flown to us and underwent an emergent crani, twice in 24 hours. He was on the vent for weeks. The prison refused to consent for a trach stating they were just going to take him off life support and "see how he did." Amazingly he was successfully extubated and discharged.

The second, lay shirtless on his belly with his hand against his chest on the floor of his jail cell for three days. He never went to medical obs because guards just knew he was faking being unconscious for THREE DAYS! Finally someone with an ounce of sense had him seen and immediately transferred to the local hospital then to us with compartment syndrome of the arm he was laying on. He requires emergent surgery, then spent several days intubated while they tried to determine why he was unresponsive in the first place, the guards response when asked why he was left "we rolled him on his side a couple times."