longer connected to the assessment of the asylum application. 1159 Under the reception and identification procedure, upon arrival, the Head of the RIC or of the Closed Control Centre shall refer persons belonging to vulnerable groups to the competent social support and protection institution.’ 1160 However, shortcomings in the identification of vulnerabilities (see Identification), together with a critical lack of suitable reception places for vulnerable applicants on the islands (see Types of Accommodation) prevents vulnerable persons from enjoying special reception conditions. A report published by MSF highlights alarming levels of mental health problems among asylum applicants on the Greek islands, including self-harming and suicidal acts among children. According to MSF, the indefinite detention, sense of limbo and systematic violence further traumatised people seeking protection 1161. Also, according to an MSF announcement on the provision of health care on Lesvos island, there are still significant gaps in asylum applicants ‘s access to health services due to delays in the registration process, with the example of “a patient with a chronic heart problem and a history of heart attack, who lost his medication during the trip, (and who) was not registered at the camp for about 4 weeks and did not have access to the necessary support […]””.1162 Moreover, in a recent joint statement of twenty civil society organisations on the living conditions and vulnerability assessment in Samos CCAC: “Any person who resides in the CCAC and especially those who are de facto detained, have insufficient and inconsistent access to medical care. Additionally, due to the absence of healthcare and individual vulnerability assessments, asylum applicants with communicable diseases risk remain undetected or unable to seek medical treatment for several weeks after arrival which causes a serious risk of contagion”.1163 Testimonies of asylum applicants accommodated in Samos CCAC – gathered in a report of I Have Rights NGO1164 highlight the inhuman living conditions in the structure: Our container is not locked, it is not safe. I don't feel safe in this environment. They can always enter the containers when they want. no privacy. Of course it’s bad, especially we ladies need privacy. of course it stresses you, but there is nowhere you can go and complain.1165 Sometimes I use some sleeping tablets. MSF [Médecins Sans Frontières] gave them to me and I use them, but otherwise I cannot sleep because of the camp stress. If there was no MSF in the camp for us, some people would die there. Because the camp doctor makes no effort. You tell them you are feeling bad, they simply tell you to go out. The workers in the camp are very, very wicked. Sometimes I feel like harming myself because of the stress of being in the camp. 1166 The ESTIA scheme on Samos, which had offered safe apartments to vulnerable applicants in the past, including victims of sexual and gender-based violence, was discontinued. Due to a lack of alternative accommodation, even sexually abused persons stayed in tents in a separate section of Vathy camp, where the alleged perpetrators also stayed. On Lesvos, following the closure of the Kara Tepe site, a model facility offering dignified accommodation in prefabricated containers, vulnerable persons were transferred to tents in Mavrovouni camp. Owing to the reduced numbers of alternatives to camps on both islands, there are significant difficulties in finding dignified accommodation even for persons with serious health issues, as reported by MSF. 1167 In Chios CCAC (Vial camp), no separate accommodation is foreseen for vulnerable persons, and rub halls with single room and no beds (only mattresses on the floor) 1159 1160 1161 1162 1163 1164 1165 1166 1167 Article 62 (2) Asylum Code, citing Article 41 of the same law. Article 40 Asylum Code. MSF, Constructing Crisis at Europe’s Borders: The EU plan to intensify its dangerous hotspot approach on Greek islands, June 2021, available at: https://bit.ly/3WfEpY5. MSF, Ελλάδα: Εν μέσω αυξημένων αφίξεων, οι Γιατροί Χωρίς Σύνορα καταγράφουν σημαντικά κενά στην πρόσβαση των αιτούντων άσυλο σε υπηρεσίες υγείας στη Λέσβο, 1 September 2023, available in Greek at: https://tinyurl.com/44hwvunn. Joint Statement of 20 civil society organisations, NOT AGAIN IN 2024 – Call for upholdinghuman rightsin the Samos Closed Controlled Access Centre, 31 January 2024, p. 1-4, available at: https://tinyurl.com/3dxhybnk; for more information regarding health and vulnerabilities witnessed on Samos and Lesvos arrivals see: MSF, In plain sight – The Human Cost of Migration Policies and Violent Practices at Greek Sea Borders, 2 November 2023, pp. 12-13, available at: https://tinyurl.com/m63dcr7d. I Have Rights, They are killing minds – Life in the Samos Closed Controlled Access Centre, 20 June 2023, available at: https://tinyurl.com/565hmbzb. Ibid., p. 5. Ibid., p. 10. MSF, Constructing Crisis at Europe’s Borders: The EU plan to intensify its dangerous hotspot approach on Greek islands, June 2021, available at: https://bit.ly/3tVzwFg; FRA, Migration: Key fundamental rights concerns - Bulletin 2 – 2021, September 2021, available at: https://bit.ly/3LopAcY. 211