C1 columnist Joel Lashley says: “Hospitals need sound policies, procedures, and training to support their staff in the handling of forensic patients. How agencies request services for their prisoners and how healthcare facilities work together is mostly a function of what the institution insists upon.” Read Hospital security: Strengthening the weakest link. |
“I respect his office policy,” said the attndant officer, “but I am not going to compromise the safety of that doctor, his nurse or my officer by removing restraints on an inmate that may well have created a problem.”
By Jim Hall
The Free Lance-Star
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — When Dr. Declan Burke, a Fredericksburg obstetrician/gynecologist, walked into his exam room Monday, he discovered that his patient, a female jail inmate, was in handcuffs.
“Please take off the manacles,” he said to the correctional officer who was with the inmate.
“No, I can’t,” the corrections officer replied.
Burke insisted, so the officer called her supervisor at the Rappahannock Regional Jail. The supervisor agreed with the officer. The handcuffs would remain in place during the exam.
Burke said he wanted the handcuffs removed to examine the patient completely. It was the first time in 20 years that he has refused to treat a jail inmate.
The superintendent of the regional jail in Stafford County said that restraints are needed to prevent violent behavior.
“I respect his office policy,” said Joseph Higgs, “but I am not going to compromise the safety of that doctor, his nurse or my officer by removing restraints on an inmate that may well have created a problem.”
Health workers must sometimes restrain unruly patients. But what about the patient who arrives for treatment in shackles? Can a doctor insist that they be removed?
Several hospitals, state legislatures and departments of corrections nationwide have debated the shackling of pregnant inmates during labor and delivery.
At Mary Washington Hospital’s emergency department, prisoners from the Rappahannock Regional Jail are not shackled while being treated.
“The handcuffs are removed, and a prison guard sits one-on-one with the patient,” said Kathleen Allenbaugh, hospital spokeswoman.
When state inmates are taken for medical care, the decision whether to shackle during treatment is made on a case-by-case basis, said Larry Traylor, spokesman for the Virginia Department of Corrections.
“Several factors come into play,” Traylor said in an e-mail. “The most significant being the offender’s history of behavior. When possible we will consider removal of either the handcuffs or the leg irons depending on the area that requires treatment.”
Burke described his patient as a “small, frail-looking woman” in her 30s. He said he did not know her criminal history. She was there because of complications of a hysterectomy.
Burke said the guard removed the prisoner’s leg shackles for the pelvic exam. He also said he wanted the handcuffs removed to do a breast exam.
With the handcuffs in place, “I could have done a limited exam. I couldn’t have done the adequate exam I wanted to do,” he said.
Burke said he did not fear for his safety. His nurse and the guard were in the room.
The guard and inmate eventually left Burke’s Central Park office without the inmate being treated.
Higgs said the jail’s policy is consistent for all prisoners, male or female, sentenced or accused.
“Normally, when we take them out into the community, even to funerals, they remain cuffed,” Higgs said.
Burke’s patient had been convicted in Stafford County and had a history of violence, Higgs said.
“The doctor has no knowledge of the history of this inmate at this facility. We do,” he said.
The inmate will see another doctor and will be handcuffed during the exam, he said.
Copyright 2009 The Free Lance-Star