Name: Ontario’s health-care crisis reflected in jails, advocates say
Uploaded: 2025-12-15T14:20:12.619Z
Duration: 2 min 13 s
Description: More than one-third of complaints filed by prisoners in Ontario jails this year were health-related, as medical staffing dropped by nearly 50 percent and inmate populations kept rising, a CBC data analysis shows. One former inmate suffered a septic wound and a miscarriage while incarcerated.

More than one-third of complaints filed by prisoners in Ontario jails this year were health-related, as medical staffing dropped by nearly 50 percent and inmate populations kept rising, a CBC data analysis shows. One former inmate suffered a septic wound and a miscarriage while incarcerated.

Ontario

The health-care challenges in Ontario's jails are underscored by the experience of Ashley Stevens, who suffered pregnancy loss and infection while incarcerated and faced difficulties accessing adequate medical care. Over a third of inmate complaints this year have been about health care and medication access, with advocates noting that prisons lack the staff and resources to meet inmates' health needs.

Ontario's jail population has risen by over 30% since 2019, but staffing levels and bed counts have not kept pace, leading to further strain on the system. The Ministry of the Solicitor General has announced the hiring of 2,500 additional staff, including mental health counsellors and nurses, to address these shortages.

Ontario’s health-care crisis reflected in jails, advocates say

I decided to keep some of this stuff. Inside this paper bag are tokens of Ashley Stevens four months in two Ontario jails. She was charged with uttering threats, mischief and assault. After violating her bail conditions she was incarcerated and then found out she was pregnant. So that's when I knew something wasn't right about this pregnancy. Okay. I just, I felt something was off. Weeks into her detention she lost the baby. I kept telling their nurses, I'm still bleeding a lot, I'm still bleeding a lot. Oh, how many pads are you going through? And I'd tell them, but sometimes I couldn't even get pads. Then an unrelated wound on her buttocks got infected. She eventually was taken to hospital. She had surgery for both the pregnancy loss and the infection. It got to the point where I got sepsis. And the doctor even said if I didn't come in when I did, I would have been dead. She's among many prisoners with health issues while incarcerated. The health complaints jump off the page. Like these are not frivolous claims. This year more than a third of the complaints from inmates were about access to health care and medication. So people with health issues and with mental health issues often end up behind bars. They don't have enough staff. They don't have enough resources for that. And the prison is not a hospital. Ontario's jail population has increased more than 30% since 2019. There are thousands more inmates but the same number of beds. Staffing is also an issue. You put 3,000 inmates into the system and you don't have additional staff to take care of the inmates and the service delivery. I mean, like there's going to be impacts. Ontario's Ministry of the Solicitor General tells CBC it's hiring 2,500 staff, including mental health counsellors and nurses, to address staff shortages. Ashley Stevens pleaded guilty to some of the charges against her. The judge had seen everything that I had went through. After three months in jail awaiting trial, the judge acknowledged her medical hardship. She was given a sentence of 30 days. Julie Ireton, CBC News, Ottawa.

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