alleged had diminished, the frequency of allegations remained at a worrying level, especially in Kyiv. Unfortunately, the unacceptable practice of unrecorded detentions has not been fully eliminated. In addition, persons concerned were allegedly subjected to informal questioning without benefiting from the safeguards provided for by law. 58. The delegation received no direct and recent allegations of ill-treatment by staff at any of the penitentiary establishments visited. However, inter-prisoner violence is a problem; the CPT therefore calls upon the Ukrainian authorities to take urgent steps to increase both custodial staff levels and presence at the establishments visited and to train and motivate staff to be proactive and prevent inter-prisoner violence. This also includes improving staff working conditions and increasing salaries, which are presently very low and which expose prison officers to the temptation of corruption. The most striking feature of almost all of the establishments visited was the generally poor or even appalling material conditions. The situation at Kyiv SIZO had worsened since the Committee’s previous visit in 2016. Remand prisoners are still generally not offered any out-of-cell activities other than outdoor exercise for one hour per day in small, oppressive and dilapidated yards. Life-sentenced prisoners continued to spend up to 23 hours per day in small cells, were offered hardly any organised activities and association. Regarding health-care services, the report is critical of the lack of medical confidentiality, the poor quality of recording of injuries, the lack of systematic reporting to competent investigative/prosecution authorities, the inadequate access to specialists and the shortage of medication. Furthermore, material conditions in prison healthcare facilities were very poor and unhygienic. 59. As to psychiatric patients, the main concern raised in the report was the lack of access to outdoor exercise, sometimes for years on end. Following an immediate observation on this subject made by the delegation under Article 8, paragraph 5, of the Convention, the CPT was informed that steps had been taken in the psychiatric hospitals visited to ensure patients’ daily access to outdoor exercise, regardless of the security level. As to living conditions, the majority of patients were accommodated in seriously overcrowded and large-capacity dormitories which lacked personalisation. Moreover, there was no dedicated space to ensure an adequate environment for psycho-social and rehabilitation activities. 60. In the social care homes visited, the number of staff in direct contact with residents in the visited boarding home was clearly insufficient for the large number of particularly challenging patients. Furthermore, some of the staff were allocated to providing care to patients with acute somatic conditions, who should in principle be transferred to appropriate establishments under the responsibility of the Ministry of Health. Report published in October 2018 (CPT/Inf(2018)41) Publication highlights ► Page 27