ANNUAL REPORT 2019-OMBUDSMANNATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM 3.3.3. Healthcare There are no permanently engaged medical staff in the Open Unit of the Kumanovo Prison in Kriva Palanka, and the health services are provided in such a way that convicts in need are brought to the health centre in Kriva Palanka or emergency teams are called for emergency medical assistance. Having in mind that this is an open unit, when there are conditions for that, the convicts themselves go to the Health Centre. Due to the fact that the Unit does not have appropriate official vehicles for transport, a major problem is the transfer of convicts to the Health Centre. Employees are forced to transport convicts in their private vehicles, knowingly taking risks, both in terms of health and safety. This is certainly a risk that the requests of the convicts for medical intervention will not be answered without unnecessary delay. Regarding the treatment of convicts, it was pointed out that convicts are not discriminated against other patients, but that the quality of services in the Health Centre is generally low for both convicts and residents in that area, given the fact, as the head of the unit pointed out, that the Health Centre is also facing a shortage of health personnel. The therapy for the convicts is procured by the Kumanovo Prison, and regarding the distribution of the pill therapy, the NPM team was first informed that the antidepressants and other therapy prescribed to the convicts by specialist doctors are distributed on a daily basis by employees. However, from the inspection of the premises of the convicted persons, the NPM team found a larger amount of medicines (more than the required daily dose), especially antidepressants. In this regard, the officials pointed out that in fact the practice of distributing daily therapy had been changed and the convicts were given therapy on a weekly basis. From the inspection of the distributed therapy records, the NPM team concluded that in the past, the convicts were really given the therapy on a daily basis, which is why they recommended that such a way of distributing the therapy be returned, especially for antidepressants and other therapy that could result in cases of overdose or self-harm. 3.3.4. Use of coercive means In the circle of the institution, when among the convicts, the officials do not walk with the weapons and the means of coercion they are responsible for, emphasizing that until now there was no need to use them in the unit, and that minor incidents, most often verbal ones, were resolved through conversation and mediation. In the records for the use of means of coercion in the last few years, not a single event has been registered, and in the direct conversations that took place, the convicts pointed out that no means of coercion have been used. 130