Opinion ID: 1339555
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Medical Care:

Text: Allegations of inadequate health care are made by the petitioners and denied by the respondents. The depositions taken in the case reveal not so much a lack of health care but rather an indifference to any systematic plan for providing minimal health care. Dawson concluded that the Mercer County Jail failed to measure up to the constitutional minimum which requires some initial medical screening, the maintenance of medical records, a regular sick call, the dispensation of prescribed drugs and availability of on-site medical supplies. Dawson also pointed out that the lack of regular contact with some person who has some basic health care training makes a sick call rather nugatory. Much of Dawson's minimal standards parallel our statutory requirements found in W.Va.Code, 7-8-2 and 7. One of the chief problems revealed in the depositions is that no person trained in health care visits the jail on any regular basis and that the decision on whether a prisoner is sufficiently ill to require transportation to a doctor is apparently made by the jailer who has no health care training. Certainly utilization of periodic visits by a nurse would provide a basis for evaluating whether a doctor is needed. Again, if the respondents are unable to agree on a suitable health care plan this matter should be resolved by the trial judge on remand.