Report on Mentally Ill in L.A. County Jails

The findings of the U.S. Department of Justice regarding inadequate treatment of the mentally ill in the L.A. County jail system (March 30) may come as a surprise to officials but they reveal only the tip of the iceberg. Such problems are seen routinely by anyone familiar with the jail system.

What the report did not address is a parallel problem involving HIV-positive inmates, some of whom are prescribed protease inhibitors. Anyone taking protease inhibitors must do so in a systematic, well-regulated manner. Without proper administration of this drug, the virus can develop a resistance to it and the drug loses its effectiveness. Inmates at the Pitchess Honor Rancho sometimes do not receive their daily medication for the flimsiest of reasons. I am familiar with occasions when inmates who returned there from the courthouse were denied prescribed medication because the bus arrived later than the narrow time slot in which daily dosages are handed out. The nurse refused to provide the medicine to inmates. On other occasions, inmates were simply told that the dispensary had run out of their HIV medication, so none was available until further notice.

Equally as serious, there are occasions when personnel have provided prescription medication to inmates but have no idea what the medication is for. I was stunned to discover that one of the nurses was routinely dispensing Dapsone, prescribed by the jail psychiatrist, but could not answer basic questions posed by an inmate regarding what the drug was prescribed for.

I realize the L.A. County jail system is overcrowded and allegedly understaffed but some of the errors such as the ones cited in the Department of Justice report, as well as those I am aware of, border on criminal negligence and someone should be held accountable until this serious problem is corrected.

ROBERT W. MOFFIE

Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Studio City

* How odd to read about scores of mentally ill people being housed in the county jail, where they are subject to inadequate treatment or to downright mistreatment for their mental problems. Odd, because this news comes shortly after learning that Camarillo State Hospital is scheduled to be shut down soon.

Surely our society is capable of doing much, much better than that.

ART KAPLAN

Laguna Hills