CAT/OP/CRI/CSPRO/1 Institute of Costa Rica, within the framework of the cooperation agreement in place between the two institutions, regarding the establishment of a methodology or standardized procedure to ensure that food reaches persons deprived of liberty in optimal conditions in terms of hygiene and temperature. 87. The Ministry of Justice and Peace is aware of the importance of monitoring prisoners’ diets to ensure that their nutritional needs are met. In this regard, it should be noted that the prisoners eat the same food as the prison staff. 88. The Ministry of Justice and Peace employs a nutritionist in its central offices whose job is to help prison management staff to establish balanced and healthy diets and to develop special diets for detainees with particular health needs. To support this work, an N1 health assistant with a degree in nutrition was hired in early 2019. 89. The Department of Human Resources of the Ministry of Justice and Peace is in the process of appointing the nutritionist from the Ministry’s central offices to the post of National Nutrition Coordinator, which will underpin efforts to invent and implement strategies to develop and monitor balanced and varied diets that cover the nutritional needs of the entire prison population. 90. There is a cycle of four weekly menus based on the food supplies currently available; these menus are regularly reviewed and improved. In November 2019, the Deputy Minister for Strategic Management requested a proposal for improvements to the menus on offer for 2020. This request has been received by the relevant professionals but has not yet been fulfilled because of delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. All of the measures described above will be implemented as soon as possible. 91. Pursuant to the Subcommittee’s recommendations, in the near future the Ministry of Justice and Peace plans to launch a project to develop a standard procedure to ensure that food is always served to detainees in optimal conditions in terms of temperature. To this end, it will collaborate with the Catering Services Unit on an inter-institutional study to try to resolve the issue from an engineering perspective. 92. An investigation into this issue revealed that in some prisons the executive board of detainees had requested permission to purchase microwave ovens to heat food provided by external sources, i.e. food sent by detainees’ relatives. The board of detainees charged 200 colones for the use of these microwave ovens. Pursuant to the Subcommittee’s recommendation, this practice has been abolished. Health care (paras. 62, 64 and 67) 93. The Ministry of Justice and Peace keeps records and carries out strict checks on the follow-up provided to persons deprived of liberty with chronic illnesses. With regard to outpatient care, currently non-standardized records are kept of the requests for medical care submitted by persons deprived of liberty and the care effectively provided. 94. Pursuant to the Subcommittee’s recommendation, the Directorate of Health Services and the Directorate of the Prison Police are working together to set up a commission tasked with establishing a standardized procedure for recording the requests for medical care submitted by persons deprived of liberty and the care effectively provided. The procedure will be adapted to the specific features of each prison. The resulting register will include the name of the requester, the date and time of the consultation and the date and time of the medical service, which will make it possible to monitor waiting times for the purpose of ensuring timely assistance. The National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture will be asked to provide advice and assistance in this regard. 95. Persons deprived of liberty who have chronic illnesses receive rigorous follow-up. In such cases, the relevant clinic organizes follow-up appointments, supplies medicines and performs health check-ups. 96. In emergency situations and in the event of acute illness, persons deprived of liberty receive immediate assistance, which is recorded in the health logs. With regard to outpatient care, the institution is currently working on a system for recording requests for medical care 12 GE.20-17766