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Just learned that @ONgov @ONsafety @ONAttorneyGen announced they're improving healthcare delivery in #onpoli prisons by centralizing healthcare admin, working more closely with police to transfer patients to hospital, & building/expanding more prisons https://news.ontario.ca/mcscs/en/2019/11/improving-health-care-delivery-in-corrections.html 1/
as an MD & prison health researcher, i can emphatically say that none of these things have been demonstrated to improve health of people who are incarcerated. instead we need improved access to tx in detention for substance use disorders, improved comprehensive primary care, 2/
emphasis on ensuring cont of care btwn community & detention, & to bring responsibility for healthcare in detention under @onthealth mandate-while we work to keep people OUT of prison (decriminalization, decarceration, addressing structural determinants of health/incarceration)3/
With news today #HamOnt will be one of 1st Ont Health Teams, I hope leaders like @pricedDFM @PackerTamar @BerniceRet @McMasterFamMed @mcmasterfamprac @SJHHPresident @STJOESHAMILTON @HamHealthSci will consider how we care for people who experience incarceration in our community 4/
But they can't do it alone - time for @ONgov to step up and provide the leadership that will allow this to happen. They can start by considering the @FamPhysCan position statement on healthcare delivery in prison https://www.cfpc.ca/cfpc_position_treatment_health_care_incarcerated_populations/ 5/
The excellent report from @jhsontario on how to strengthen healthcare for people in detention in Ontario http://johnhoward.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/MOHLTC-Response-Prison-Health-Care-1.pdf 6/
the recommendations from coroners inquests into the overdose deaths of 8 men at the Barton St Jail https://www.mcscs.jus.gov.on.ca/english/Deathinvestigations/Inquests/Verdictsandrecommendations/OCCInquestHWDC.html and the death of Bradley Chapman the month after his release https://www.mcscs.jus.gov.on.ca/english/Deathinvestigations/Inquests/Verdictsandrecommendations/OCCInquestChapman2018.html 7/
an external review commissioned by the government of ontario on the delivery of healthcare in detention https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/shunned-by-hospitals-and-given-sub-standard-treatment-ontario-prisoners-need-better-health-care-report 8/
and of course the voices of people living with the consequences of poor access to healthcare in Ontario correctional facilities https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/health-worries-dominate-talk-on-new-jail-hotline-1.4978668 9/
Friends, if you've made it this far, retweet, contact your MPP, read some of the links above, and support your local prisoner advocacy groups. Thanks for reading <3 #ONhealth #ONpoli #prisonhealth 10/10
