A draft new Protocol on medical screening upon admission to prison was finalized on 23 March 2021 by a Working Group (WG) composed of experts from the Ministry of Citizen Protection and supported by the Council of Europe consultant/s. The WG agreed on a series of key medical examinations that can help build an accurate medical profile of every prisoner from the very first day of imprisonment.
The draft Protocol placed a particular emphasis on the role of medical staff for the identification of signs of ill-treatment and their appropriate documentation. An equal importance was given to issues of medical ethics, such as the need for confidentiality during medical examination and for medical files, as well as to the need of an early mental health screening and diagnosis as part of an overall policy for self-harm reduction and suicide prevention.
The draft Protocol will be submitted to the Greek authorities for the adoption and swift implementation that will significantly contribute to the improvement of health care and human rights protection of prisoners in Greece. The implementation of the Protocol and overall improvement of health care in Greece will be further supported with the delivery of training of medical and non-medical staff.
The new Protocol has been developed within the project „Strengthening prison health care in Greece“, funded by the Council of Europe Human Rights Trust Fund and implemented by the Criminal Law Cooperation Unit (DG I).
European Prison Rules
CPDL Highlights
