[t]he provision of medical services in the Leros CCAC is severely inadequate. The response we received from the Reception and Identification Service (RIS) (on 11/11/2024) confirms that the facility has no doctor. The medical staff comprises only six nurses, one midwife, one psychologist, and one social worker. Medical screening is carried out by the RIS medical unit, involving nurses and periodic visits by doctors to the island. This arrangement means that medical assessments for newly arrived individuals are essentially unavailable, making it impossible to identify potential vulnerabilities. Furthermore, due to the lack of personnel, accessing medical assistance for residents is extremely challenging. The staffing shortages render diagnosis, monitoring, and assistance for individuals with serious or chronic health conditions unfeasible. For example, in two cases of individuals with medical issues, RSA lawyers formally requested medical assessments and vulnerability evaluations. Although the CCAC administration referred these individuals to the Medical Control and Psychosocial Support Unit, no such assessments have taken place to date. One of these cases involved an individual blind in one eye and experiencing vision problems in the other, who had not been examined by a doctor since arriving in Greece in late July, with their health issues remaining unaddressed. When the individual sought help independently at the hospital, they were informed that medical examinations require a referral from the CCAC. Refugees reported to us that hospital referrals, even for unaccompanied minors, are made only in very severe cases. Meanwhile, the Leros hospital itself faces significant staff shortages.667 In December 2024 METAdrasi and Equal Rights Beyond Borders noted that there were 750 unregistered persons beyond the 25-day time limit in CCAC of Leros. Numbers were higher and had reached 1,000 previously. People are allowed to exit after the 25-day period but without any rights, health care etc. The CCAC has no doctor to perform medical checks and is serviced by a doctor performing three-day missions, mainly to sign health cards and occasionally to offer care to urgent cases.668 Lesvos: Shortages in Medical and Psychological Support have continued during 2024. As reported by RSA: [s]erious shortages in medical and healthcare staff are evident in the Lesvos CCAC. According to the Reception and Identification Service’ s response to us (as of 11 November 2024), there is only one general practitioner, one gynaecologist, two midwives, six nurses, one laboratory technician, two psychologists, and one social worker in the CCAC. Newly arrived individuals undergo a basic medical check-up, while no psychosocial evaluation is conducted. Even individuals with obvious vulnerabilities are not identified. Furthermore, medical staff only work during business hours, leaving the facility without a doctor at night or on weekends. NGOs attempt to fill this gap, but this complicates prescriptions and referrals, as only certified Greek doctors can issue them. The Vostanio Hospital in Lesvos is also severely understaffed. There is currently no active child psychiatrist on the island, making it impossible to identify minors with mental health vulnerabilities.669 Summing up, according to the data provided by the MoMA to the Greek Parliament, druring 2024 only 29 doctors were employed across all camps managed by the RIS, averaging just one doctor per 635 people among the 18,412 residents. Furthermore, 13 of the 32 camps, including some housing hundreds or even thousands of residents on 30 June 2024, such as Samos (2,255 residents), Kos (1,263 residents) and Katsikas (789 residents), have no doctors at all. Camps without doctors at all include Samos, Kos, Chios, Corinth, Kyllini, Pyrgos, Volos, Serres, Katsikas, Filippiada, Alexandria, Vagiochori, and Sintiki. 670 In the islands’ CCACs, only 2 doctors were employed in Lesvos CCAC, while Samos, Kos, Leros and Chios CCACs have no doctors at all.671 667 668 669 670 671 RSA, Leros, 10 December 2024, available at: https://rsaegean.org/en/leros-2024/. Information obtained during Legal Aid Working Group meeting of 4 December 2024. RSA, Lesvos, 10 December 2024, available at: https://rsaegean.org/en/lesvos-2024/. RSA, Persisting severe reception deficiencies in understaffed camps, 5 September 2024, https://rsaegean.org/en/stats-reception-of-asylum-seekers-jun-24/ GCR Submission to the Committee of Ministers of τhe Council οf Europe concerning the execution of the M.S.S. v. Greece Group of cases - April 2025 available here pp 61 - 150