- 36 More than ever there is an urgent necessity to adopt standards guaranteeing a diversified
regime, with activities and recreation. In addition, norms with respect to the provision of
appropriate medical and social care should be included in the operating standards, as well as issues
related to the maintenance of order and discipline. At present, no guidance is given to law
enforcement officials assigned to the facilities on the measures to be taken in the event of a
disturbance or breakdown in order; staff are left to improvise. Similar operating standards should be
introduced for the police holding facilities.
The CPT calls upon the Greek authorities to take the necessary steps to draw up and
implement, as soon as possible, operating standards for both the special facilities for irregular
migrants and police holding facilities, guaranteeing, inter alia, a regime offering activities and
recreation.
iv.
health care
73.
At a minimum, a person with a recognised nursing qualification must be present on a daily
basis at all centres for detained irregular migrants. As stated above in paragraph 46, this was not the
case at the Athens Airport and Piraeus Facilities. In contrast, the Filakio, Pagani, Petrou Ralli and
Venna detention facilities had their own in-house medical service. The medical staffing
complement at Filakio was still one full-time doctor and two part-time nurses, while at Petrou Ralli
there was an increased presence of a doctor and at Pagani, a doctor was present on a daily basis.
As concerns Venna, at the time of the visit, one full time doctor was attached to the Centre.
However, the difficulties as concerns the provision of medical care flagged in the CPT’s report on
its 2007 visit to Greece, appear not to have been fully resolved.58 In a letter, dated 5 August 2009,
the Rodopi Police Union expressed its concern as regards the provision of medical care; notably
that the nurse had not been paid for six months and that no doctor had been attached to Venna
during the summer months, when the Centre was at its most crowded.
The CPT has already recommended that the detention facility for irregular migrants at
Athens Airport benefit from the presence of medical staff on a daily basis (cf. paragraph 46).
Further, the Committee recommends that the Greek authorities take adequate measures in
order to ensure regular medical care is provided at all centres where illegal migrants are held.
74.
In addition to the medical care provided by the centres, medical screening of new arrivals
for tuberculosis was consistently carried out in Filakio and in Pagani. At Petrou Ralli, all new
arrivals were also screened for skin manifestations.
At Venna, as a consequence of the absence of a doctor between 9 July and the beginning of
September 2009, several newly arrived migrants had not been medically screened, which meant that
persons suffering from transmissible diseases or infections were not identified. In one dormitory,
the delegation met a man who had apparently been diagnosed as suffering from tuberculosis prior to
coming to Greece. As this man was coughing up blood, his medical condition required an
immediate medical examination, and he was transferred to hospital at the request of the delegation.
58
See CPT/ Inf (2008) 3, paragraph 36.
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents