- 13 23. As regards access to a doctor, the CPT found that this right was still not fully effective in practice, even if it is guaranteed by law. Given that persons are currently being kept for prolonged periods in police and border guard stations, the CPT has advocated in the past that the Greek authorities establish a system whereby doctors visit police (and border guard) stations regularly to screen new arrivals and to enquire whether there are detainees with potential medical problems. However, despite the continuing prevalence of contagious skin diseases in many of the stations visited, no action has been taken to date to put in place such a system. The findings of the 2008 visit also highlight that the existing process of sending detained persons in need of medical care to a hospital is not sufficient. For instance, one person met by the delegation in Omonia Square Police Station had been in obvious pain for some hours15. The responsible police officers had acknowledged in writing this situation and had even recommended that the person be taken to hospital. However, it was only after the CPT’s delegation insisted on his immediate transfer to a hospital for further examination and treatment that the necessary steps were taken. The CPT calls upon the Greek authorities to review the existing arrangements concerning access to a doctor and the provision of health care for persons held by law enforcement agencies, in the light of the above remarks. 4. Conditions of detention in police and border guard stations 24. The CPT has repeatedly made recommendations aimed at improving the conditions of detention in police and border guard stations, in particular as regards occupancy rates, material conditions, levels of hygiene, outdoor exercise and access to medical care. These recommendations were most recently affirmed in the Committee’s report on its 2007 visit16. Despite the stated intentions of the Greek authorities to refurbish many of the establishments visited in 2007, the CPT’s delegation did not observe any significant improvements in the conditions of detention in the establishments visited in 2008. 25. The CPT’s delegation carried out visits to four police stations in Athens, seven in the Alexandroupoli, Drama, Orestiada, Rhodopi, Thessaloniki and Xanthi prefectures and one in Mytilini, on the island of Lesbos. In addition, the delegation visited seven border guard stations in the Alexandroupoli and Orestiada prefectures. On the whole, the conditions of detention in police and border guard stations remain grim, with excessive overcrowding being the norm. In sum, the problems posed by overcrowding exacerbated the already poor material conditions and contributed significantly to the hygienic problems observed in these establishments. 15 16 See paragraph 12 above. See CPT/Inf (2008) 3, paragraph 21