Special purpose deprivation of liberty facilities I.4.3 Hospital Custody Units Unit visited 186. In 2016, we visited the Hospital Custody Unit [Unidad de Custodia Hospitalaria (UCH)] at Puerto Real (Cádiz), under the authority of the Secretary-General of Prison Institutions [Secretaría General de Instituciones Penitenciarias (SGIP)]. This unit is used whenever a prisoner in any of the prison establishments in the province (Puerto I, Puerto II or Puerto III) requires hospital assistance, in which case the CNP acts as the custodian of all hospitalised inmates. The length of each person’s stay on these facilities depends on the type of assistance they need. Patient intimacy and privacy 187. Each doctor’s visit or healthcare is provided in the presence of a custody agent, thereby compromising the patient’s intimacy. Following the conclusion reached by the Ombudsman on the matter, the DGP replied that most of the inmates belong to a group under special supervision, with a significant criminal or prison record, which is why security measures should be weighted without them interfering in doctor-patient relations. Nevertheless, the SGIP is examining the possibility of installing some type of permanent partitioning in the two common rooms, without affecting the safety of healthcare and custody staff. Video surveillance Conservation and maintenance 188. These facilities have a video surveillance and recording system, covering the access hallway and entrance to these facilities. 189. The SGIP has replied, in relation to conservation and maintenance required by the control room used by custody agents, that it has been entirely renovated and painted, with new toilets; renovation of its furnishings is pending a budgetary assignment. 115