DOC director says inmates getting proper care

MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) -- Testimony by the head of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections reflected a far different view of prison care than he gave a year ago. <br><br>DOC Director James Saffle said Tuesday

Wednesday, March 22nd 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) -- Testimony by the head of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections reflected a far different view of prison care than he gave a year ago.

DOC Director James Saffle said Tuesday that Oklahoma's prisons now provide medical care that meets constitutional requirements. Last year, he said a lack of physicians hurt the care inmates received.

Saffle's testimony came during the first day of the resumption of a hearing that began last April to determine whether a receiver should be appointed to handle prison medical care.

Tulsa attorneys Louis Bullock and Thomas Seymour have alleged that deliberate indifference by the Corrections Department caused inmate deaths and needless suffering.

Saffle said Tuesday that the department had seven physician vacancies in April, and now there are five. He testified last year that filling physician vacancies was urgent. On Tuesday, he said more access to external doctors has offset the urgency.

At one point during the testimony, Bullock asked Saffle who had told him to change his testimony. Saffle said he had received inadequate advice before his prior testimony.

At another point, Bullock asked the judge to direct Assistant Attorney General James Robinson to stop signaling responses to Saffle.

Saffle testified that he had not read a 1978 court order dictating staffing levels, adding that it may not apply to current conditions. He also said he didn't know if physician staffing had kept up with the growth of the prison system, adding that inmate growth doesn't necessarily mean more medical needs.

Last year's hearings were suspended after lawmakers appropriated $7.2 million for prison medical care in an effort to end the decades-old class-action prisoner lawsuit Battle vs. Anderson. When a settlement fell through, U.S. District Judge Michael Burrage ordered hearings to resume.

Testimony was scheduled to continue today in federal court in Muskogee.