Corrections Director defends care provided in Arizona prisons

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona’s corrections chief testified at a trial on Tuesday over the quality of medical and mental health care in state prisons that incarcerated people often have greater access to health services than people who aren’t locked up.

The defense by Corrections Director David Shinn of the health care system for prisoners came after the state has faced years of complaints about poor health care behind bars and has been fined $2.5 million for not complying with a settlement over the issue.

The settlement was thrown out this summer by a judge who concluded that the state showed little interest in making many improvements it promised under the 6-year-old deal and that inadequate care for prisoners had led to suffering and preventable deaths.

“They often have greater access to care than I do as a private citizen,” Shinn said of prisoners.

Lawyers for the prisoners are asking U.S. District Judge Roslyn Silver to take over health care operations in state-run prisons, appoint an official to run medical and mental health services there, ensure prisons have enough health care workers and reduce the use of isolation cells, including banning their use for prisoners under age 18 or those with serious mental illnesses.

They said Arizona’s prison health care operations are understaffed and poorly supervised, routinely deny access to some necessary medications, fail to provide adequate pain management for end-stage cancer patients and others, and don’t meet the minimum standards for mental health care.

So now, the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry is denying any allegations that it has provided inadequate care, delayed or issued outright denials of care and failed to give necessary medications.