- 26 7. Other issues 56. The process of transfer of individuals by the police to an establishment for psychiatric assessment or involuntary placement remained a problem31. At all establishments visited, the CPT’s delegation heard allegations of routine handcuffing behind the back, sometimes painfully tight and/or lasting many hours, of patients transported from remote locations in Greece. At Dromokaiteio Psychiatric Hospital, the CPT’s delegation also witnessed, for example, the patently unnecessary use of handcuffs on a frail, elderly patient left waiting for her turn to undergo a psychiatric assessment, her hands cuffed behind her back. In addition, the delegation received one allegation of excessive use of force by the police during a transfer from the patient’s home to a psychiatric institution several weeks prior to the visit. In particular, the patient alleged that while he was handcuffed behind his back an escorting officer hit him on the back of his head with a truncheon. No trace of this allegation, or physical evidence of it, was found in admission registers or the patient’s file. In the CPT’s view, the police should not be the agency usually responsible for transfers to a psychiatric establishment. The fact that the police are not the appropriate service to carry out such transfers is borne out by interviews with patients, health-care staff and police officers themselves. Persons with mental health-care needs should, in principle, always be transported by health-care staff. By letter of 7 June 2018, in response to the CPT delegation’s observations on this issue, the Ministry of Health informed the CPT that the draft law on involuntary psychiatric placement includes an article which stipulates that the transfer of patients to mental health units for assessment will be carried out by specially trained staff in special vehicles under conditions that absolutely ensure respect for the patient while at the same time fulfilling the necessary safety requirements. The assistance of a police officer during the transfer can only be requested as an exception. The CPT welcomes this positive response and requests an update on the adoption of the above-mentioned new arrangements for the transfer of patients with mental disorders. Further, the Committee recommends that the Greek authorities take the necessary steps – including clear instructions and training on how to handle the transfer of persons possibly in need of psychiatric care – pending the implementation of those arrangements, to ensure that transfers are carried out in such conditions as to ensure the safety and dignity of patients. In particular, handcuffs should not be used in the course of such transfers. The CPT would also like to be informed whether, and if so, under what circumstances, law enforcement officers are allowed to use truncheons during such transfers. 57. The CPT’s delegation met one patient, at Dromokaiteio Psychiatric Hospital, who had been transferred from Korydallos Prison Psychiatric Hospital. He was accommodated in a room on his own, supervised by two plainclothes penitentiary staff members, each carrying a firearm and constantly stationed outside the room. The CPT’s delegation was informed that such arrangements were not infrequent. 31 See the CPT’s 2005 visit report (CPT/Inf (2006) 41), paragraph 151.