CAT/OP/MLI/1 F. Psychiatric service 68. The delegation found that the psychiatric unit at the Point G Hospital, which is the only one in the country, takes a generally satisfactory and innovative approach to treatment of the mentally ill and that its staff are competent and motivated. An open-door policy is applied to patients, who are free to move about the establishment. In emergencies, patients are placed in solitary confinement but they are never restrained and a daily record on them is kept by the unit’s doctors. The consent of the patient is always sought, which explains why there are very few forced hospitalizations. The rare cases of forced hospitalization that do exist are monitored by the unit’s doctors, not the judicial authorities. As a rule, patients are always accompanied by a family member, which appears to have a positive effect on their treatment and, above all, facilitates their return to family and community life and prevents families from “off-loading” their mentally ill relatives. The only negative aspects observed by the Subcommittee were that families bear the entire cost of the medication used in treatment, and the inexplicable case of four chronic patients who were fed by the hospital but were left to live amid the rubbish in an old shed. The hospital does not have the capacity to receive all psychiatric cases, including the most severe ones among the prison population, which means that for these cases there is no real provision in the country. 69. The State party should ensure that chronically ill patients are lodged in decent conditions and that the hospital assumes responsibility for their medical treatment. It should also study the possibility of having a special procedure for handling the chronically ill and the most serious psychiatric cases, including among the prison population. G. Staff 70. The Subcommittee interviewed the persons in charge and staff members in all the places of deprivation of liberty it visited. It found that some prisons are understaffed and that staff members lack training. Moreover, although paid regularly, they do not receive any bonus payments for the prolonged working hours. Some prisons do not have proper offices or temporary accommodation for staff that stay overnight. The paucity of resources and material allocated to them mean that police and gendarmerie stations and prisons are illequipped to fulfil their tasks properly. 71. The Subcommittee also noted that prison staff receive no specific training and no independent body inspects their work. 72. The Subcommittee also found that staff safety is compromised in several prisons by poor installations (walls that are too low, the lack of watchtowers, and so on) and the lack of proper surveillance equipment. The Subcommittee found that staff members do not receive any in-service training. 73. The Subcommittee recommends that the authorities improve staff working conditions, allocate sufficient funds and equipment to the various establishments in question, and provide staff with adequate training to enable them to carry out their duties properly. The Subcommittee recommends that the authorities take the necessary measures to improve the working conditions and security of staff, especially in prisons. A human rights training programme should be introduced for law enforcement officers and prison staff. 74. The Subcommittee urges the State party: to draw up an attractive career plan for those responsible for implementing custodial measures; to establish an independent inspection body; and to request assistance and cooperation from the specialized agencies of the United Nations for modernizing the prison system. GE.14-41827 15