CT prison health care delays leave incarcerated people waiting months, or longer, for critical treatment, report finds
A new report from the Connecticut Office of Correction Ombudsman said some incarcerated people have been waiting months, and in some cases more than a year, for medically necessary outpatient care, including cardiology visits, cancer treatment, and imaging.
The report, shared with Len Besthoff and NBC Connecticut Investigates, pointed to a scheduling system that is backlogged and lacks accountability, with thousands of approved referrals still unscheduled.
The report found that “in the last few months more than 2,000 inmates had approved referrals for medically necessary outpatient care… things like cardiologist visits, cancer treatments, and imaging… and they have gone months, or longer, without even being scheduled.”
The report concluded that the Department of Correction (DOC) system for arranging these appointments is “backlogged” and, at one point, had more than 2,400 inmate-patient referrals pending.
The report highlighted six cases illustrating the consequences of delays.
One involved a man who died after being hospitalized for a heart problem in January. By the time he died in March, his cardiology appointment still had not been scheduled, according to the report.
In another case, a cancer patient said he was not consistently taken to chemotherapy, and the report says the man was not on a list to be transported.
A third case described an inmate who waited two months to be seen for a torn ACL in his knee, and was still waiting to be scheduled for physical therapy and surgery eight months later, the report said.
Amy Zipf with the CT Office of the Correction Ombudsman said “The latest list, which we have that was pulled on March the 13th, there are 58 people who have been waiting on that list since 2024.”
The Ombudsman’s report warned that if the Department of Correction (DOC) does not improve care access, the state could face legal exposure under a standard known as “deliberate indifference” to inmate medical needs.
Ombudsman Devaughn Ward is calling for immediate corrective action and has issued subpoenas to DOC leaders to testify at a public hearing.
Ward added, “My office doesn’t have the authority to make DOC do anything, but I certainly think that holding the hearings, having public insight and transparency into what DOC is doing… will serve as a catalyst for action.”
In a statement, the DOC said:
“There is a significant and growing shortage of specialty physicians across the United States. Shortages are particularly acute in specialties including cardiology, gastroenterologists, pulmonology, dermatology, obstetrics, and gynecology. With that in mind, a total of 10,098 (an average of more than 27 per day) outpatient specialty service appointments were completed for individuals under the supervision of the Connecticut Department of Correction during the 2025 calendar year. Despite the growing shortage of physicians and accompanying longer wait times for appointments in several medical specialty fields, the Department of Correction Health Services Unit will continue to strive to have those who need specialized care receive it as soon as possible.”
You can read the full report here:
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