SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A county in the San Francisco Bay Area will spend $250 million to increase staffing and improve health care at its jails after a lawsuit alleged inmates with physical and mental problems were being neglected, including some who were potentially suicidal.

Contra Costa County reached an agreement Thursday calling for spending the money over five years, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday.

“These changes will save countless lives, reduce the suffering of people confined in the jails and increase public safety,” said Corene Kendrick, an attorney with the Prison Law Office, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of some inmates.

The county has around 800 inmates in its jails.

During negotiations over the case, medical experts hired by the county criticized its mental health system and procedures for drug and alcohol treatment, the Chronicle said.

One expert said the jails lacked proper cells and treatment