to take action in this regard, following consultations with the prison and hostel management. b) Medical assistance Inmates in the Vratsa Prison, Boychinovtsi closed-type prison hostel, Keramichna fabrika open-type prison hostel, Correctional Home for Minor Boys and the detainees in the two detention facilities are all treated in the Medical Centre of the Vratsa Prison. The staff of the Medical Centre comprises three nurses and one director. The director position is vacant, while the three nurse posts are occupied, one of which is held by a retired medical doctor in the Boychinovtsi closed-type prison hostel. The head of the prison has assigned one of the nurses in charge of the Medical Centre. The NPM finds this practice incorrect.There is tension in the work of the Medical Centre. A medical doctor works four hours per day, under a civil contract. The Vratsa Regional Health Insurance Fund has assigned a General Practitioner for the inmates in the Vratsa Prison and Keramichna fabrika open-type prison hostel. The Montana Regional Health Insurance Fund has assigned a General Practitioner for the inmates in Boychinovtsi closed-type prison hostel. A dentist works in the prison dental office under a contract with the National Health Insurance Fund and treats all inmates there. Certain delays have been established in providing certificates from the Territorial Expert Medical Commission in relation to two inmates moved from the Vratsa Prison to Boychinovtsi closed-type prison hostel. This is the result of a misunderstanding among the medical specialists who is in charge of certificating the inmates in Boychinovtsi closed-type prison hostel – the Territorial Expert Medical Commission in Vratsa or the one in Montana. To resolve the existing problems in the Prison Medical Centre, the NPM recommends filling the director vacancy. 2. Sofia Prison There are two prison hostels with the Sofia Prison, Kazichene and Kremikovtsi. a) Living conditions NPM’s first inspection established that the premises were old and dilapidated. The number of inmates accommodated in the cells exceeded several times the admissible standards. The NPM found that six to eight persons were placed in double rooms with bathrooms and toilets. The cell windows were small hence there was not enough daylight in the sleeping quarters of the whole building. There is a long-standing and systemic shortage of drinking water in Kremikovtsi Prison Hostel, which is not connected to the central sewer but uses septic tanks instead. Hot water runs for two hours a day at a flow rate of five buckets. The management of DG Execution of Punishments is aware of this problem, which is probably the reason to refuse to build a new prison there since a new water-main would require substantial funding. The heating in Kremikovtsi Prison Hostel is on wood and coal, with stoves located in the premises. The walls are smoky, almost gray, in places open to brick. The floor is of rough concrete. The walls and ceilings of the bathrooms and toilets are covered with mold. There was mold even in rooms where the ceiling had been repaired (group 8, room 2). The air in the toilets is humid and stuffy due to lack of ventilation, except by opening the door to the sleeping room. These barracks are not subject to any reconstruction to provide decent conditions for stay. Kremikovtsi Prison Hostel is currently the hostel with the worst conditions in Bulgaria, without any prospects for improvement in the near future. 12