- 65 - 136. In the course of the visit, the CPT’s delegation found several cases of prisoners with transmissible diseases who were not receiving appropriate treatment. One case concerns a man who had been discharged from Korydallos Prison Hospital to the Men’s Remand Prison on 2 June 2009, with a diagnosis of acute Hepatitis B infection and chronic Hepatitis C infection. The discharge letter recommended that tests of his liver function and viral load should be repeated. However, he had missed his appointment in the health care centre on 22 June 2009, and no steps had been taken to request him to attend for follow-up of these blood tests. This lack of action is extremely worrying, both for the prisoner himself and for the wider health interests of the prison as a whole. The CPT recommends that the health care centre at Korydallos Prison establish a clear procedure for following up on cases. Further, it would like to receive information on what action was subsequently taken in the above-mentioned case. 137. A second case concerns a woman with HIV who had been transferred from Thiva Prison to Korydallos Women’s Prison on 3 September 2009. A week later she started taking anti-retroviral drugs. In the course of September she was twice transferred to hospital on account of high temperature and vomiting, and the hospital had given instructions that she should be seen by a doctor with a view to readmission to hospital should these symptoms reappear. Regrettably, it would appear that despite her having a very low number of white blood cells, which caused her to be at risk of a serious infection, frequent vomiting and associated loss of weight in the 10 days prior to the delegation’s visit, she was not provided with the appropriate care. She was not weighed and there was no record of her temperature having been taken. Further, it was evident that no one was taking responsibility for the oversight of this woman’s care; her medical records attested to this state of affairs. The delegation asked for this woman to be transferred to hospital because her most basic health needs could not be met at Korydallos Women’s Prison, insofar as there was no resident doctor overseeing her care and no qualified nurses. Further, the conditions of detention in the isolation unit, where she was accommodated, were totally unsuitable for her needs. However, it would appear that this woman continued to be held in Korydallos Women’s Prison without the appropriate arrangements made for her to receive the necessary nursing and medical care that her condition required. More specifically, despite a recommendation by the hospital on 28 September 2009 for her to undergo a gastroscopy, this had still not occurred by early November84; this is an unacceptable delay for a person with advanced HIV and frequent vomiting. In the context of the good care provided to male HIV patients in Korydallos Prison Hospital, the CPT recommends that the Greek authorities establish a clear protocol for treating women patients in an advanced state of HIV, addressing issues of medical and nursing care, conditions of detention and confidentiality. 84 Information provided in the Greek authorities’ response of 23 November 2009, in reply to the preliminary observations made by the CPT’s delegation at the end of the 2009 visit.

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