are actually met in all Austrian correctional institutions and whether
they are adequate.
arrival
The topic of the presence of prison guards during the medical
treatment of detainees is closely linked to the question of the
necessary scope of a health examination upon arrival. The AOB has
already addressed the tension between security interests and the
protection of intimacy and confidentiality with respect to the presence
of prison guards at medical examinations of detainees in the previous
year’s report.
Presence of prison
guards during treatment
It was demanded that, if it was absolutely necessary to have a prison
guard present during the examination of a detainee, he or she should
be a person of the same gender. Under which circumstances it is
absolutely necessary to have a guard present during a medical
treatment (in the room at the correctional institution provided for this
purpose) is still left open.
Same-sex prison guards
required
According to the Federal Ministry of Justice, a decree was to be issued
in January 2014 to clarify the required procedure with respect to the
presence of prison employees at consultations with physicians based
in the facility. However, the decree issued in January 2014 did not
reach the NPM until March 2015, because it could not be finalised and
formally approved for about a year after preparation due to
negotiations with staff representatives.
Order of the Federal
Ministry of Justice
regarding the presence
of prison employees
The NPM does not deny that security concerns can require the
presence of a same-sex prison guard. However, it stresses that the
presence of a prison guard at such an examination constitutes an
interference with the detainee’s right to privacy. Therefore, even a
same-sex prison guard should only be present if there is a verifiable
need.
In this regard, particular attention should be paid to CPT standards,
which state that any medical examination of a prisoner (whether at
admission or at a later date) should be conducted out of the hearing
range and – unless otherwise requested by the attending physician –
out of the line of sight of prison personnel. Likewise, maintenance of
patient records should be the responsibility of the physician [CPT/Inf/E
(2002) 1 – Rev. 2010 p. 36].
Out of the hearing
range and line of sight
of prison personnel
It is expected that a definitive assessment of the content of the
aforementioned decree will not be possible until the next report of the
NPM.
Detainees have the same right to care and nursing as patients in hospitals and nursing
homes.
Regular checks on the physical and mental condition of detainees are an important part of
health care.
The maintenance of an electronic record of nursing care is indispensable. The ability to trace
the individual instances of treatment and care, standing alone, will ensure increased care in
dealing with prisoners in need of nursing care.
If it is absolutely necessary to have a prison guard present at the examination of a detainee,
94
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