A recent report from the John Howard Society of Ontario (JHSO) suggests the delivery of health care to people in correctional facilities should be integrated with the health care provided to people living in the community. Fractured Care: Public Health Opportunities in Ontario’s Correctional Institutions, points out individuals who are incarcerated in Ontario face a number of unique health challenges and are much more likely to have acute and chronic physical and mental health conditions compared to the general population. Conditions in correctional institutions can often compound and perpetuate these health issues.
As such, the report argues that these challenges require reforms to Ontario’s public health care system. Currently health care service in Ontario’s correctional institutions is overseen by the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services (MCSCS) and treated as wholly separate from the larger public health care system. Fractured Care argues that this results in differing levels of standards of care and service delivery. This status quo presents barriers and silos in providing all Ontarians with effective and equitable access to health care.
As the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care is currently undertaking a transformational change, the report points out that this is an opportune moment to integrate service delivery and provide people in correctional institutions with the same standards of health care found in the rest of the province.
CMHA Ontario has advocated for more effective and equitable treatment of incarcerated individuals with mental health issues. Most recently, we recommended to MCSCS that solitary confinement never be used for individuals with mental health issues as it can to a number of negative impacts on an individual’s health.
For more information about the JHSO report, visit their website.