- 54 By communication of 30 June 2015, the Ministry of Justice informed the CPT that the competent prosecutor had been asked to initiate an investigation into the death of case i) above. The CPT reiterates its recommendation that the Greek authorities put in place a practice of carrying out effective inquiries into deaths in custody with a view to learning lessons and improving operating procedures within the prisons to prevent, where possible, similar deaths. In that connection, the CPT wishes to emphasise that the criteria for effective investigations set out in paragraphs 26 and 29 above apply with equal weight to the investigation of deaths in custody, including those that take place in medical settings. The CPT recommends that an effective investigation also be carried out into case ii) and it would like to be informed of the outcome of both investigations. 5. Korydallos Prison Hospital 89. The conditions in Korydallos Prison Hospital have been the subject of several media reports, and images depicting the appalling state of affairs in the establishment have been posted online.57 However, at the time of the CPT’s visit, urgent action had still not been taken to remedy the situation which was so drastic that the place could be compared to a dumping ground for sick prisoners who are subsequently neglected and not provided with the care required. Such an appalling state of affairs cannot be permitted to continue. The hospital has an official capacity of 80 beds and on the day of the visit was accommodating 141 prisoners, not including the 47 HIV positive prisoners in Korydallos Women Prison who were under the responsibility of the hospital. This is certainly an improvement from the period prior to November 2014, when some 220 patients were held in the hospital, but the hospital remains severely overcrowded. For example, in the smaller rooms, five patients were held in 17m² while the larger rooms of 43m² were accommodating 10 or 11 patients with beds crammed together; in a hospital setting, Greek law fixes a standard of 6m² of living space per person.58 In addition to the cramped conditions, the rooms were filthy and cluttered and hygiene was extremely poor. 90. Moreover, the current drastic understaffing makes it impossible to provide all patients with the proper care they require. The four resident doctors (a general practitioner, a surgeon and two microbiologists) worked Mondays to Fridays from 7h00 to 14h30, and a separate duty resident doctor rota of eight doctors covered the hours of 14h30 to 7h00 and weekends. Approval has apparently been obtained to recruit five additional physicians, which is sorely required. Further, after an absence of two years, a dentist now visits the hospital twice a week. In addition, a number of specialists visit the hospital (psychiatrists, dermatologists, ophthalmologist, cardiologist and an ear, nose and throat surgeon). However, there is a lack of formal process in exchanging information on patients between the specialists and the treating doctors, and much depends on the individual relationships between doctors. 57 58 https://twitter.com/kolastirio/media See Article 91 of the Greek Prison Law of 1999.