Correctional institutions medical consultations (CPT visit to Austria in the autumn of 2014, CPT/Inf (2015) 34, German, p. 39). With respect to the security concerns that have been raised, it should be noted that the security rights of medical and nursing staff are protected because prison employees can be called in at any time at the request of the doctor. The presence of prison guards should be limited to such cases. Moreover, all examination rooms and infirmaries have emergency call systems. In addition to triggering alarms with touch-sensitive alarm buttons or alarm switches, an emergency call can be made at any time using a portable emergency call system, such as a DECT phone, radio or portable security alarm device. Emergency call systems provide additional security During its visits, the NPM also questioned the staff at the infirmaries, who confirmed that not every prisoner requires the presence of prison guards at medical examinations and treatments. The staff are generally open to the NPM’s recommendation to protect the doctor-patient-treatment relationship. A survey of the staff supports the recommendations The persons questioned by the NPM considered it to be a practical solution to limit the use of prison guards to cases where their use is required based on a risk assessment or their use requested by the doctor on security grounds. Unfortunately, in everyday prison life, at least one prison guard is usually still present during medical treatments or examinations. The NPM adheres to its earlier recommendations (see the NPM’s recommendations in chapter 3.5). 2.5.5.6 Tags to identify names or functions for doctor‘s office personnel During its visits, the NPM was often unsure of the roles played by various persons in the vicinity of the doctor’s office, since people did not wear any tags to identify their functions. In the infirmaries of numerous correctional institutions, the medical and nursing staff and the law enforcement personnel all wear white clothing. Therefore, the person’s outer appearance is not a reliable indicator of his or her profession or function. In early 2017, the NPM recommended that prison guards wear easily legible name tags on their uniforms (see NPM Report 2016, p. 112 et seq.). If there are special security concerns, a number can be used on the tag instead of a name. In the view of the NPM, wearing clearly visible name tags is a suitable means of increasing trust in prison employees. Making persons identifiable helps to create greater transparency and avoid violence, and enables full and effective investigations of any potential misconduct. If the identity of the employee is unknown, this can be an obstacle to making an effective complaint. Education and function are not identifiable The NPM is of the opinion that the wearing of visible tags by infirmary personnel to identify their name or function (e.g. doctors, qualified nursing Identification eliminates uncertainty 127

Select target paragraph3

Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents