- 63 131. The findings of the delegation in the course of the visit highlighted, once again, the fact that in all the establishments visited, apart from Thessaloniki Prison, there was a lack of coordination and consultation among the various medical staff. It was particularly evident that visiting psychiatrists were not engaging with the wider primary health care team82. The smooth operation of a health care service presupposes that doctors and nursing staff are able to meet regularly and to form a working team under the authority of a senior doctor in charge of the service. The CPT recommends that in each prison a senior doctor be appointed as the head of health care, with responsibility for managing the health care service and ensuring there is a regular consultation process among the staff. 132. In the course of the visit, the CPT’s delegation met a number of recently graduated doctors who were carrying out their residencies as prison doctors. These doctors were carrying out their functions despite having had no prior experience or training on working in a prison setting, nor did they have any reference to doctors in other prisons or receive any supervision from more experienced colleagues. The fact that they were employed directly by the Ministry of Health and were linked to a hospital in the community was positive. Nevertheless, steps should be taken to develop a coherent health care service for prisons with best practice from one prison being replicated across the prison service, and prison health care staff being provided with the appropriate training and support by the Ministry of Health. The CPT recommends that the Greek authorities take the necessary steps to provide appropriate training and support to doctors working in prisons, in light of the above remarks. 133. Finally, the CPT was concerned to learn that the full-time dentist at Korydallos Women’s Remand Prison was unable to undertake even the most basic of procedures, including extractions or fillings, because the prison authorities would not provide funding for the sterilisation of the dental equipment. The CPT recommends that immediate action be taken to ensure that the necessary sterilisation is provided for. 82 In several prisons it was also observed that there was an absence of psychiatric notes and a lack of narrative in respect of mental health problems within prisoners’ individual health-care files.

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