- 33 63. Medical screening upon admission should generally be carried out within 24 hours, initially by a nurse and thereafter by a doctor, if required. However, this was still not the case in any of the prisons visited. At Korydallos Men’s Prisons, all newly arrived prisoners are tested for Hepatitis B and C and for HIV and offered a chest x-ray. In contrast, in the other prisons visited, medical screening simply consisted of asking questions on the basic medical history and taking blood pressure. However, quite a few prisoners had not been seen for more than a week after admission and some had no entries in their medical file. Indeed, except for Chios Prison, the medical files were frequently poorly annotated, and the delegation noted that doctors might record nothing in the medical files despite having seen a number of prisoners during a session. Further, screening for infectious diseases is not routinely carried out and a physical examination only takes place if the prisoner raises a medical issue. The CPT reiterates its recommendation that the Greek authorities ensure that every newly arrived prisoner be comprehensively interviewed and physically examined by a doctor or a fully qualified nurse reporting to a doctor within 24 hours of admission, and that the results be diligently noted in the prisoner’s personal medical record. Further, all newly admitted prisoners should be routinely offered screening for transmissible diseases such as Hepatitis B and C, HIV and Tuberculosis. 64. As regards the screening for and recording of injuries, the CPT has repeatedly stressed the important role that health care staff can play in the prevention of ill-treatment through the diligent and accurate recording of injuries. To this end, the CPT has described in detail what the record drawn up after the medical examination of a prisoner – whether newly arrived or following a violent incident in the prison – should contain.36 At the time of the 2021 visit, there was still no standard practice for the recording of injuries and the delegation observed that the entries in the trauma registers and in the personal medical files were generally scant. Moreover, there were no clearly defined standard procedures in place for doctors to report any allegations of ill-treatment by police officers to the competent prosecutor. In the CPT’s view, the accurate and timely documenting and reporting of forensic medical evidence will often be crucial for the effectiveness of investigations into allegations of ill-treatment, which in turn will act as a strong deterrent against the commission of ill-treatment in future. For prison medical services to fully play their role in preventing ill-treatment, it is incumbent on every prison doctor to comprehensively screen, record and report all injuries noted on prisoners as set out by the Committee in previous visit reports. In the course of the 2021 visit, the CPT met several prisoners who made allegations of ill-treatment by the police but who had not been properly examined by a doctor upon entry to prison and for whom there was no proper recording of injuries in the medical file. The CPT reiterates its recommendation that steps be taken in all establishments to ensure that the record drawn up after the medical examination of a prisoner – whether newly arrived or following a violent incident in the prison complies with the procedures set out by the CPT in paragraph 50 of its report on the 2019 visit. Reference should also be had to the Istanbul Protocol of 1999 on the effective investigation and documentation of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 36 See CPT/Inf (2014) 26, paragraph 129; see also the section on documenting and reporting medical evidence of ill-treatment in the 23rd General Report of the CPT’s activities: CPT/Inf (2013) 29, paragraphs 71 to 84.