| Organization: | Office of the State Auditor |
|---|---|
| Date published: | February 2, 2024 |
Executive Summary
In accordance with Section 12 of Chapter 11 of the Massachusetts General Laws, the Office of the State Auditor has conducted a performance audit of the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) for the period July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2022.
The purpose of our audit was to determine the following:
- whether BCSO complied with and implemented the requirements of Section 932.17(2) of Title 103 of the Code of Massachusetts Regulations (CMR) and Section 12.08.07 (Death of an Inmate) of BCSO’s Policy 12.08.00 (Terminal Illness, Advance Directives and Death) regarding the deaths of inmates in its custody;1
- whether BCSO held quarterly meetings with its contracted healthcare provider and reviewed quarterly reports regarding healthcare services for inmates in accordance with 103 CMR 932.01(3);
- whether BCSO provided its inmates with intake medical screenings upon admission and a physical examination and initial health assessment within 14 days after admission, in accordance with Sections 12.02.04 (Intake Medical Screenings Procedures) and 12.02.06 (Comprehensive Physical Examination and Health Assessment) of BCSO’s Policy 12.02.00 (General Inmate Medical Procedures); and
- whether inmates at BCSO received medical care after submission of a sick call request form in accordance with Section 12.02.09 (Clinical Services) of BCSO’s Policy 12.02.00.
Below is a summary of our finding and recommendation, with links to each page listed.
|
Finding 1 |
BCSO did not ensure that Sick Call / Medical Encounter Request Forms (MERFs) contained all information and that sick calls were triaged on time. |
|
Recommendation |
BCSO should implement effective monitoring controls (i.e., policies and procedures) over its sick call process and it should conduct periodic evaluations of its internal controls to ensure that its contracted healthcare provider includes all information on MERFs and triages sick calls on time. |
1. BCSO told us that if an inmate is in custody, it means that BCSO has the authorization from a court to incarcerate an inmate until the court orders their release. A death in custody is one that occurs during this period of incarceration.