What is the federal government's obligation to provide medical care for prisoners with mental health problems?

The government has an "obligation to provide medical care for those whom it is punishing by incarceration." Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 103 (1976). The failure to meet this obligation will constitute a constitutional violation when the official's conduct is "sufficiently harmful to evidence deliberate indifference to serious medical needs." Id. at 106; accord Wood v. Housewright, 900 F.2d 1332 (9th Cir.1990). Prison officials manifest deliberate indifference to a prisoner's serious medical needs when they deny or delay access to medical care. Estelle, 97 U.S. at 104-05.