- 71 Within three days following the hospitalisation order, the public prosecutor must refer the patient's case to the district court sitting as a bench. The court must be convened within ten days. Notice to appear at the court hearing must be served on the patient 48 hours in advance, and he must be informed of his right to be assisted by a lawyer and by a psychiatrist acting as technical adviser. The grounds for the court's placement decision must be stated, and the patient can avail himself of remedies against that decision in accordance with the rules of civil procedure (section 97). 220. Under section 99 of the 1992 Act, involuntary hospitalisation must end as soon as the circumstances which prompted admission cease to apply. Involuntary hospitalisation shall not normally exceed six months. After the first three months in hospital, the head doctor and another psychiatrist must submit a report to the competent public prosecutor on the patient's state of health. The prosecutor may forward the report to the court with a request for extension or termination of hospitalisation. The patient or his parents/guardians may also request termination of placement. Should the court dismiss a request for termination, a further request may be submitted within three months. Extension of a patient's hospitalisation beyond the six-month limit, due to exceptional circumstances, requires the involvement of a board of three psychiatrists. 221. In fact, in the establishments visited (except for the emergency admission unit of the Rafina Psychiatric Hospital for children), the delegation ascertained that the provisions relating to involuntary hospitalisation were not applied and, in most cases, not even known. In the files consulted, the delegation saw no indication that the various steps in the procedure summarised above had been carried out. Recently-arrived patients had been admitted on the strength of an ordinary medical certificate drawn up by a single psychiatrist. In consultations held by the delegation, it was indicated that the medical and administrative staff were awaiting the arrival of an explanatory circular on the Act. 222. The CPT recommends that the Greek authorities take, as a matter of urgency, appropriate measures to ensure that the provisions of the 1992 Act governing involuntary hospitalisation of patients and guarantees available to patients - in particular as regards their admission and discharge - are duly applied. The CPT also wishes to be informed of the extent to which the 1992 Act will be applied to patients hospitalised before its entry into force and, more generally, whether there is a procedure for the review at appropriate intervals of placements lasting longer than six months. 223. As regards psychiatric patients confined under section 69 of the Penal Code, the delegation was told by doctors that the courts tend automatically to order the patient's continued hospitalisation even where a medical opinion certifies that there is no further need for it and that the patient no longer shows symptoms of mental illness or dangerousness. The CPT would like to receive the comments of the Greek authorities on this matter.