- 67 126. The screening for injuries upon arrival was not properly carried out in any prison visited
and was particularly poor at Korydallos Men’s Prison. For example, the prisoner referred to in
paragraph 97 , who had been transferred from Trikala Prison, had still not been seen by the healthcare unit when he met the CPT’s delegation one week after his arrival at Korydallos Prison.
The delegation was informed by medical staff in all prisons that newly arrived inmates were
only asked whether they had any injuries, and that staff would not carry out a physical examination
unless he/she expressly referred to the presence of injuries. A systematic physical examination is
essential given that many inmates will be reluctant to speak of injuries they might have suffered; it
may also help to detect other medical problems a new inmate might have.
Even when injuries were detected, there was not a systemic forwarding of information to the
relevant authorities outside of the prisons.
The recording of injuries that inmates sustained in prison was generally not satisfactory and
the delegation observed that no body-charts were used to indicate injuries. However, the delegation
noted positively that health-care staff in many prisons indicated the explanations for the injury
given by the inmate as well as any doubts they might have concerning this explanation.
The CPT was pleased to note that, following one of its previous recommendations, specific
registers for injuries and incidents of ill-treatment had been introduced in all prisons visited.
127. The CPT recommends 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 – contains:
i)
an account of statements made by the person concerned which are relevant to
the medical examination (including his/her description of his/her state of health
and any allegations of ill-treatment);
ii)
a full account of objective medical findings based on a thorough examination;
iii)
the doctor's observations in the light of i) and ii) indicating the consistency
between any allegations made and the objective medical findings.
Recording of the medical examination in cases of injuries should be made on a special
form provided for this purpose, with “body charts” for marking injuries that will be kept in
the medical file of the prisoner. If any photographs are made, they should be filed in the
medical record of the person concerned. In addition, documents should be compiled
systematically in the existing special trauma register.
The results of every examination, including the above-mentioned statements and the
doctor’s opinions/observations, should be made available to the prisoner and, upon request, to
his/her lawyer.
Further, the existing procedures should be reviewed in order to ensure that whenever
injuries are recorded by a doctor which are consistent with allegations of ill-treatment made
by a prisoner (or which, even in the absence of allegations, are indicative of ill-treatment), the
report is immediately and systematically brought to the attention of the relevant prosecutor,
regardless of the wishes of the person concerned.
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