c. healthcare services 84. The CPT has long urged the Greek authorities to improve the provision of healthcare services in the country’s pre-removal detention centres, given the structural deficiencies observed in this area during the Committee’s previous visits. The problems observed, such as lack of medical screening upon arrival or insufficient access to healthcare, were compounded by the severe shortages in resources, and especially insufficient numbers of healthcare staff. Combined with the lack of hygiene and the appalling detention conditions previously observed, the CPT had considered that they even presented a public health risk. The findings of the 2023 visit indicate that, despite some improvements, most of the concerns raised during 2016, 2018 and 2020 visits persisted. 85. In 2017, the Greek authorities transferred the provision of medical services in the pre-removal detention centres to the Ministry of Health, and in particular the Health Unit SA (Ανώνυμη Εταιρεία Μονάδων Υγείας, AEMY), a public limited company under the supervision of the Ministry of Health. The Greek healthcare system, in general, is confronted with a chronic lack of resources and overall insufficient healthcare staffing levels, especially in remote areas. This situation was even more problematic in most of the pre-removal detention centres visited and was further exacerbated by the current funding system and recruitment procedures. All healthcare staff, including doctors and nurses, as well as psychologists, interpreters, social workers and health visitors are employed by AEMY on short-term contracts funded by EU projects. The consequence of this arrangement was that medical personnel had precarious contracts with no guarantee of renewal and were regularly replaced or resigned from one day to the next without being replaced, which created constant shortages in resources and an excessive instability of the healthcare teams. The CPT recommends that the Greek authorities review the modalities for funding and recruiting healthcare staff to guarantee sufficient staffing resources and greater stability of the healthcare teams working in pre-removal detention centres. 86. At the time of the visit, the situation in terms of healthcare staffing resources was as follows: At Tavros (Petrou Ralli) PRDC – for a facility detaining 139 persons with an operational capacity of 150 places – the healthcare staffing resources were satisfactory. In addition to the presence of a medical doctor, three nurses (allowing for a nursing presence from Monday to Saturday during the day), a health visitor,37 a psychologist (who had just started the week before), a social worker (since August), an interpreter and an administrator (all full-time), a psychiatrist visited the centre three times a month. The situation was more tense at Paranesti PRDC – with 290 persons deprived of their liberty for an operational capacity of 300 places – where the healthcare team was composed of a part-time medical doctor (present three days per week), as well as a dentist, three nurses (ensuring a nursing presence from Monday to Friday during the day), a psychologist and an administrator (all working full-time). A similar picture prevailed at Xanthi PRDC – with 181 detained persons being held for an operational capacity of 210 places. The medical team included a part-time medical doctor (present two days per week) as well as two nurses (present from Monday to Saturday throughout the day), a social worker, an interpreter (who only spoke Turkish), and an administrator (all full-time). In contrast, the situation was dramatic at Corinth PRDC – for a centre holding 626 persons for an operational capacity of 768 places (which since has been further increased) – and the resources in terms of healthcare personnel were entirely inadequate. Fortunately, a medical doctor had started working at the centre on a full-time basis (from Monday to Friday) on the day before the delegation’s visit, after more than seven months without a doctor. 37. The health visitor was tasked with public health measures at the pre-removal detention centre, including the prevention of infectious diseases (such as tuberculosis or Covid) as well as general preventive healthcare and health promotion work. 26