- 63 4. Health-care services a. introduction 115. In the report on its 2011 visit (paragraph 68), the CPT noted that issues such as staffing, access to health-care, medical screening upon admission, medical confidentiality and health-care policy concerning drug abuse, remained problematic and that previous CPT recommendations in these areas had not been implemented by the Greek authorities. At the time of the 2013 visit, the situation had not improved and there remains a strong need for an overall review of the provision of health-care services in prisons. The long-planned transfer of prison health-care to the Greek national health service has not yet happened; in the meantime the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Justice agreed that doctors from local hospitals visit the prisons in order to provide medical care to the prisoners for a set number of hours per week. The CPT reiterates its recommendation that the Greek authorities urgently re-examine the general state of health-care services in prison establishments. The CPT would also like to receive information from the Greek authorities with regard to the plans to hand over responsibility for prison health-care to the national health service. b. health-care in general 116. At Korydallos Men’s Prison, the situation as regards health-care resources had deteriorated significantly since the 2011 visit. The four general practitioner (GP) posts had been abolished, with the result that not a single full-time doctor worked in the establishment. Instead, a rotation system of visiting doctors from local clinics had been put in place shortly before the delegation’s visit, with various general practitioners each attending one morning a week for three hours, giving a total GP presence of a mere 15 hours per week.68 Such a limited presence of qualified doctors is totally insufficient to provide adequate health-care to more than 2,300 prisoners. However, at the time of the visit, not even these 15 hours of presence were guaranteed; the delegation observed that the scheduled visiting doctors sometimes failed to show up without giving any prior notification. Further, every two months, a new batch of doctors from another hospital in Athens was scheduled to assume the task of visiting GP at Korydallos Men’s Prison. Such a system inevitably leads to a lack of continuity, thereby hindering the ability to provide quality medical care. In the CPT’s view, it is essential for such a large prison, which in addition serves as the point of entry to the penitentiary system for many prisoners, to have the equivalent of at least four full-time general practitioners. 68 In addition, there were three doctors currently still in the process of obtaining their full medical qualifications, who were coming at irregular intervals (three to four times per months for about six hours each time) to assist in the provision of medical care. An intern also supported the unit during six hours per week.