European legal and policy framework on immigration detention of children which has hampered access to psychological help.373 In Austria, public health officers (Amtsärzte) providing healthcare in detention facilities;374 if detainees choose to also consult a doctor of their own choice, they must cover the costs and the consultation must take place in the detention room.375 If police officers are present during the consultation, they directly compromise medical confidentiality, as reported in Medveďov, Slovakia, in 2010.376 If police escort and handcuff accompanying parents, as reported in Slovakia377 and Estonia,378 children trust the consultation less. At the centre for administrative detention in Metz, France, detainees wishing to see a doctor or nurse during their stay must ask the police to help them submit a request, in French, to a box in the dining room.379 Language barriers and lack of interpretation are another common obstacle, slowing down examination and treatment. • In Bulgaria380 and Poland, the lack of local knowledge of the individual’s language restricts access to psychological care.381 373 Białas, Jacek; Cegiełka, Dawid; Chmura, Adam; Górczyńska, Marta; Ostaszewska-Żuk, Ewa; Rusiłowicz, Karolina; Słubik, Katarzyna; Trylińska, Anna; Witko, Daniel (2014), Still behind bars-Report on the Monitoring of Guarded Centres for Foreigners by the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights and the Association for Legal Intervention, Warsaw, Association for Legal Intervention, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, pp. 31–34. 374 Austria, Decree of the Ministry of the Interior on checks on persons by authorities and institutions of public safety (Verordnung der Bundesministerin für Inneres über die Anhaltung von Menschen durch die Sicherheitsbehörden und Organe des öffentlichen Sicherheitsdienstes (Anhalteordnung - AnhO)), BGBl. II Nr. 128/1999, 19 May 2017, Section 10. 375 Ibid, Section 10 (5). 376 CPT, Report to the Government of the Slovak Republic on the visit to Slovakia carried out from 24 March to 2 April 2009, Council of Europe, 11 February 2010, para. 41. 377 Human Rights League, Forum for Human Rights (2016), The Immigration Detention of Families with Minor Children and the Situation of Unaccompanied Minors in Slovakia. Alternative Report to the United Nations Committee on the Rights Of The Child for Consideration of the Combined Third to Fifth Periodic Reports of Slovakia under the Convention on the Rights, p. 6. 378 Estonia, Chanchellor of Justice (Õiguskantsler), OPCAT control visit to Harku detention centre (OPCAT kontrollkäik Harku kinnipidamiskeskusesse), 12 March 2013. 379 France, CIMADE (2014), Centres and establishments of administrative detention (Centres et locaux de rétention administrative). See also CIMADE (2015), Rapport 2015 sur les centres et locaux de retention administraive. 380 Kanev, Kr., et al. (2014), ‘Country report: Bulgaria’ in: Baeva, S. (ed.), Children Deprived of Liberty in Central and Eastern Europe: Between Legacy and Reform, Sofia, Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, p. 277. 381 The Halina Nieć Legal Aid Center (2013), Vulnerable Foreigners in Poland: Identification, Detention and Judicial Practice, Krakow, The Halina Nieć Legal Aid Center, pp. 21. 84 • In Slovakia, medical staff have very limited opportunity to request the presence of an interpreter. Some nurses and doctors do not speak English, which makes establishing a diagnosis difficult. They have had to use gestures to explain intended medical interventions/procedures to patients. In particular, children have not been able to understand the state of their health and treatment.382 Promising practice Full-time psychologists at facility When children with families need to be detained for short periods of time in Portugal, they are placed in the Saint Anthony Housing Unit (Unidade Habitacional de Santo António) in Oporto. A fulltime clinical psychologist works there, who is responsible for accompanying all persons and helping them deal with problems that are common at the facility, such as anxiety, stress, depression or sleep disorders, as well as problems in any other area of life. Whenever necessary, transport to the hospital or to psychiatric services is provided. These services and procedures have been described and assessed as adequate in the study conducted by the Jesuit Refugee Service – Portugal, except that some detained persons interviewed said they needed additional medical services, such as HIV testing, appointments with medical specialists or support from dentists and ophthalmologists. Sources: Gonçalves, N., Jorge, A., Cabral, H., Bronzin, M., Varela, A., Alves, S., Silva, G., Fernandes, P., Almeida, I., Gil, A., Duarte, F. (2010), Muros que nos separam: Detenção de requerentes de asilo e migrantes irregulares na UE, Prior Velho and Águeda, Paulinas, pp. 30, 48, 70 382 Human Rights League, Forum for Human Rights (2016), The Immigration Detention of Families with Minor Children and the Situation of Unaccompanied Minors in Slovakia: Alternative Report to the United Nations Committee on the Rights Of The Child for Consideration of the Combined Third to Fifth Periodic Reports of Slovakia under the Convention on the Rights, p. 5.