An Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge expressed disappointment and persistence, raising constitutional violation concerns while questioning state health officials over the increasing backlog of patients awaiting treatment.
As previously covered on Conduit Street, the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) is struggling to admit committed individuals for treatment in state hospital facilities. During a court ordered report last week, MDH testified in front of Anne Arundel Circuit Court Judge Ronald A. Silkworth on what actions they are taking to address the State’s hospital bed crisis. A wait list of patients that was previously in the low 100s is now upwards of 200, falling often between 220 and 250 individuals.
According to a Baltimore Banner article, Judge Silkworth was unsatisfied with the update:
An Anne Arundel County judge has ripped the Maryland Department of Health for its presentation of what he described as a woefully inadequate plan to address the state’s psychiatric bed crisis.
The State is legally required to admit these individuals within 10 days from when they are found not competent to stand trial. Due to bed shortages and discharge backlogs at the state facilities, these individuals wait, in some instances, hundreds of days before being transferred for services. The cost of state non-compliance falls on county detention centers who struggle to keep up with the cost of care while the individuals wait in local custody.
According to remarks made by Judge Silkworth, the court intends to keep the pressure on until compliance and a reasonable standard of service are established.
“We cannot let this go. The issue is too important,” Silkworth said, adding that the plan needs more specifics. “This is not just about managing a chart and numbers, this is about people.”
Recently judges across Maryland have more readily been imposing six-figure fines, including one totaling $608,000 from a Baltimore County judge just last year.
