Watchdog Finds Medical Delays and Staff Gaps at New Hampshire Federal Prison

Inmates at FCI Berlin in New Hampshire face significant delays in routine and urgent medical care, according to a Justice Department Office of the Inspector General inspection, Legal Information Services Associates reports. The outlet cites the inspector general's Report 26-002, dated October 16, 2026, and a Union Leader report from the same day on staffing gaps and care delays at the prison.

The report is based on an unannounced inspection in January 2026, the outlet reports. Even though the facility operates at 52% of its stated inmate capacity, the inspector general found critical staffing shortages among correctional officers and medical personnel. Those shortages have caused waits of nearly a year for specific consultations, according to the report.

Vacancies are most acute among correctional staff and in the Health and Psychology Services departments, the outlet reports. The report found staff struggle to handle inmate requests for routine care inside the prison and to get inmates to outside medical providers. Inspectors also flagged security violations and deviations from Bureau of Prisons rules for tracking sexual misconduct complaints.

Housing ICE detainees has added demands on the understaffed institution, while deteriorating infrastructure and broken security equipment remain unaddressed, according to the report. Hundreds of prisoners face long waiting lists for rehabilitation programs and vocational training meant to reduce recidivism, the inspector general said.

Writing in Forbes, Walter Pavlo said the inspection offers a familiar picture for a bureau responsible for more than 150,000 people, the outlet reports. New Hampshire Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan and Representatives Chris Pappas and Maggie Goodlander wrote to BOP Director William K. Marshall III that the findings must be taken seriously, and that staffing at the prison has dropped further since the inspection.