HARD TIME

Hospital Pushed Weight-Loss Surgery on Prisoners Who Recovered in Jail: NYT

One patient claimed he wasn’t warned about the difficulties involved in recuperating in jail.

A public hospital pushed weight loss surgeries on prisoners who were then sent back to jail where they had little control over their diets, according to a report. A New York Times investigation into bariatric procedures performed at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan found that 11 prisoners from Rikers Island had undergone the surgery, after which patients are supposed to consume a protein-rich diet. One of the prisoners claims they weren’t told about the challenges that would be involved in recovering while incarcerated—when they would not be able to control their food intake—adding that a doctor had used pressure tactics in convincing him to agree to the operation. Two prisoners told the Times they’d become malnourished and regretted having the surgery. Bellevue spokesperson Christopher Miller said the Rikers patients were “screened and assessed like all others” and had been kept in the hospital until they were capable of consuming the food available in the jail.