ANNUAL SPECIAL REPORT 2016
23
(approximately 700 persons), also has a psychiatrist but instead of a daily
presence the Hellenic Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (KEELPNO)
is there only 3 mornings a week. The completion of a health card for every
detainee, as stipulated by the Operation Regulations of the Pre-Removal
Detention Centres for Third-Country Nationals, and the provision of regular medical care are still objectives in detention facilities, where individual
healthcare primarily falls to the Greek state. The fact that these are centres
with constant prisoner mobility – the Pre-Removal Detention Centre of Tavros is the main assembly facility for detained persons in the jurisdiction of
the Aliens Division of Attica – makes it even more difficult to provide medical care, especially when the transferred detainees are not accompanied
by their medical histories. It is also noted that the shortage of interpreters
jeopardises the provision of proper health services. A related problem is the
irregular supply of medicine and the coverage of the corresponding expenses, which are either covered sporadically or by donations from associations,
Non-Governmental Organisations, etc.
Living conditions at the Detention Centres also give rise to questions concerning the additional strain that is caused, particularly to the mental health
of third-country nationals, by being detained for months, by their uncertainty
about their future and by the lack of adequate information. It should also
be noted for further investigation with regard to proper care, that there is a
concentration of patients with transmissible diseases, such as AIDS, tuberculosis, hepatitis Β and C, in a separate wing of the Aliens Division of Attica
(P. Ralli Street). Another matter for concern is the standard assurance of
the doctor to the Ombudsman officers carrying out the external monitoring
of return operations, which are launched from this centre, that the patients
included in the operations are not active carriers of transmissible diseases.
Finally, it is noted that the Greek Ombudsman has been stressing since
2014 that administrative detainees should receive the same level of medical
care as the rest of the population, by analogous application of the relevant
provisions of the Penitentiary Code (Article 27). The Operation Regulations
of the Detention Centres at the beginning of 2015 limit the provision of services to the “necessary” medical/pharmaceutical care. The law, especially
for detainees seeking asylum, stipulates proper medical care. The Greek
Ombudsman sent a detailed opinion to the Ministry of Migration Policy regarding the draft bill that was scheduled for discussion in October 2016 on
the reception of applicants for international protection (Directive 2013/33/
EC, recast 29.6.13), noting, inter alia, that the health, including mental health,
of applicants in detention, shall be of primary concern to national authorities, in accordance with Article 11(1) of the above Directive. According to
Article 19 of the same Directive, necessary health care “shall include, at least,
emergency care and essential treatment of illnesses and of serious mental
disorders”, as well as “necessary medical or other assistance to applicants
who have special reception needs, including appropriate mental health care
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