Annual Report 2012: Spain’s National Preventive Mechanism
inmates to health, since it forced important decisions in this field to be taken by
staff that was not qualified for it. Therefore, it was requested that medical assis
tance was provided on a permanent basis. The Directorate General of the Police
reported that the contract for the provision of services had been extended with the
subcontracted company, so that the assistance of both a physician and a registered
nurse would be implemented by means of a permanent location system outside of
the hours when they should be physically present.
Although there is no
specific program for the
prevention of suicide,
precise instructions are sent
to the police officers in
order to reduce such risk
A new request has been
made so that injuries may
be photographed and sent
to the judicial authority
The format and content of
the clinical histories must
comply with the law
At the CIEs in Valencia and
Barcelona there was no
record of any demand for
medical assistance
70
54. As regards the psychological and psychiatric assistance of inmates referred to
in paragraphs 266 of the 2010 Annual Report and 94 of the 2011 Annual Report,
the Directorate General of the Police has reported, in the specific case of the CIE
in Valencia, that members of the NGO “Psicólogos sin fronteras” (“Psychologists
without borders”] pay daily visits to the center catering to an average of 8-10 inmates per day. As regards the establishment of a specific program for the preven
tion of suicide, the Directorate General of the Police has reported that it is not
provided at CIEs, since they are not penitentiary units. However, this same au
thority informed that instructions are periodically sent to the police officers on
duty, in order to reduce the risk of self-harm or suicide by inmates.
55. When analyzing the clinical histories which included references to the inju
ries, it was noticed that there wasn’t an adequate description of the type of injury,
its shape, dimensions and exact location, nor the remaining characteristics in
cluded that may subsequently allow the determination of the causes. As was point
ed out in paragraphs 357 of the 2010 Annual Report and 86 of the 2011 Annual
Report, it was again requested that photographs of the injuries be taken for their
subsequent remission to the judicial authority. The Directorate General of the Po
lice has reported that, given the relevance of this matter, the new subcontracted
company has been informed of this so that it may assess its implementation.
56. At the visited centers it was detected that, neither the format nor the content of
the clinical histories complied with the provisions set forth in Law 41/2002, of 14 No
vember, on the Autonomy of the Patient and the Rights and Obligations pertaining to
Clinical Information and Documentation. The Directorate General of the Police has
reported that the company SERMEDES had remedied this shortcoming and that the
medical service from the Directorate General of the Police has also sent a request to
the new company, CLÍNICA MADRID, to have them remedy this aspect as well.
57. At the CIEs in Valencia and Barcelona there was no record whatsoever stating
explicitly any demands for medical assistance made by inmates or whether such
demands had been subsequently provided. The Directorate General of the Police
has reported that, in the case of Barcelona, a book with free access for inmates was
established, with sealed and numbered pages, and in the case of Valencia, a daily
list of medical consultations where inmates may sign up if they wish to have a
physical exam that day.
THE OMBUDSMAN OF SPAIN
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