Countywide

Settling a lawsuit over the level of psychiatric care available to female jail inmates, San Diego County officials have agreed to upgrade services.

Under an out-of-court settlement announced Tuesday by the Legal Aid Society, which filed the suit, the county agreed to provide psychiatric hospital services at a six-bed facility to be built by March at the women’s jail in Las Colinas. The treatment available to female inmates will be comparable to that now provided to male inmates at the County Jail downtown.

As an interim step, the county also agreed to provide bed space for four psychiatric patients at its Point Loma psychiatric hospital, effective Sunday. Also beginning next week, the county will provide outpatient psychiatric services to female inmates.