Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024
Section 95-3-29 - Medical and Health Care Services29.1. Emergency Services. There shall be 24 hour emergency medical care available. The responsible physician shall approve a plan providing for the use of emergency transportation, use of a local hospital emergency department of appropriate health facility with emergency on-call physician services, procedures for the transfer of inmates to other medical facilities and security procedures.29.2. Responsible Physician. A physician shall be designated to approve health care policies, procedures and agreements which can include use of hospital emergency rooms. Each facility shall have agreements for 24 hour emergency medical coverage. All physician and dentists examining or treating inmates shall be licensed to practice in the State of West Virginia.29.3. Medical Autonomy and Facility Administration. Medical decisions shall be made only by the physician or designee(s). It shall be made clear to the health authorities and physicians that security regulations which apply to the non-medical staff also apply to them. They will be provided with a list of these regulations and an orientation to the facility system.29.4. Notification of Next of Kin. Any inmate having any serious illness to injury or who dies while incarcerated shall have his/her next of kin or legal guardian notified by the facility administrator or the physician.29.5. Postmortem Examination. In the event of an inmate death, the state medical examiner shall be notified immediately. If the cause of death is unknown, or the death occurred under suspicious circumstances or the inmate was unattended from the standpoint of not being under current medical care, a postmortem examination shall be performed.29.6. Minimum Staff Training Requirements. Health trained staff is defined as personnel who have certified first aid and CPR training and also have received information regarding the population (including depression and chemical dependence), basic management of seizures, medical administration, health record maintenance, recognition of potential suicides, and procedures for patient transfer to appropriate medical facilities or health care providers. Each shift shall include at least one member who has become health-trained as described above.29.7. Prohibition. Inmates may not be used in the performance of any medical or health care services.29.8. Receiving Medical Screening. Every person taken into custody and admitted to the facility other than from another correctional facility shall be medically screened by health-trained staff (see Section 11.6). This receiving medical screening must include inquiry and observations sufficient to identify inmates in need of immediate medical attention (within the 12 hour holding period) or those requiring medical isolation or special observation. Particular attention must be directed toward the identification and appropriate disposition or persons under the influence of alcohol or other drugs and those who may be suicidal. Inmates requiring medical or psychiatric attention shall be referred for emergency or urgent care. Those requiring medical isolation or special observation shall be isolated and/or observed.29.9. Access to Treatment. All inmates initially admitted to the holding facility shall be informed of their right to emergency medical care. Inmates transferred from another correctional facility shall be provided as scheduled any necessary medications or care ordered by health care providers at the facility from which they originated. 29.10. Administration of Medication. Persons administering medications shall do so under the authority of a physician and shall have received training appropriate for their assignment.29.11. Health Records. A health record shall be established on every inmate at the time of his/her receiving screening or at the time or transfer for off-site care. Documentation of any off-site examination or treatment shall be made in the health record. Copies of health records shall accompany inmates transferred from the holding facility to another correctional facility.29.12. Confidentiality. The inmate's medical information, records and confidences entrusted to a physician or other medical care professional in the course of screening, examination or treatment are confidential and shall not be disclosed to anyone except: 29.12.a. With the inmate's informed consent; or29.12.b. Where the law requires disclosure, e.g., reporting of communicable diseases; or29.12.c. When the security of the institution or the safety of the individual requires disclosure and then only to the extent necessary for the protection of the inmate and the security of the facility; or29.12.d. The chief administrative officer can review medical records but must maintain their confidentiality except as provided above.29.13. First Aid Kits. Each facility shall have an appropriate number of first aid kits. The physician shall designate the number, location and contents of first aid kits. The staff must periodically inspect all equipment and first aid kits.