3XEOLFDWLRQRI&37YLVLWUHSRUWV 31. Overcrowding remained a problem in the prisons visited, notwithstanding a major prison-building programme. The CPT’s delegation found that the continuing increase in the prisoner population (which stood at 21,532 in February 2010, as compared to some 7,000 at the time of the CPT’s periodic visit in 2004) was undermining the efforts made to create a humane penitentiary system. The Committee considers that certain features of the Georgian legislation – such as applying sentences on a consecutive rather than a concurrent basis to separate elements of what is often a single criminal episode – merit re-examination as they appear to be significant contributors to the overcrowding problem. In the visit report, the CPT calls upon the Georgian authorities to redouble their efforts to combat prison overcrowding by adopting policies designed to limit or modulate the number of persons sent to prison. Further, the CPT has recommended that the norms fixed by legislation for living space per prisoner be reviewed, so as to ensure that each inmate has at least 4 m² of living space in multi-occupancy cells in all prison establishments. The situation as regards the programmes of activities offered in prisons remained highly unsatisfactory, with the vast majority of sentenced inmates and all remand prisoners having no opportunities for work, and educational and vocational training being extremely limited. Further, the number of prison officers working within the establishments visited was generally low. The CPT has recommended that steps be taken to increase staffing levels and that the current system of 24-hour shifts for prison officers be changed. In their response, the Georgian authorities refer to the Penitentiary Reform Action Plan aimed at promoting the use of alternatives to imprisonment and the development of an improved conditional release system. Further, the Action Plan addresses the issue of increasing staffing levels. Information is also provided about the creation of work opportunities and other activities in prisons. However, the authorities state that limited financial resources make it impossible to immediately increase living space per prisoner. In respect of health care in prisons, reference is made to the preparations for the transfer of responsibility for prison health care to the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs by 2013, a measure which has long been advocated by the CPT. 32. The CPT’s delegation received no allegations of ill-treatment of patients by staff of the Asatiani Psychiatric Institute in Tbilisi during its follow-up visit to the establishment. However, the report highlights the ever-deteriorating state of the hospital (crumbling walls, electrical wiring hanging from the ceilings, damaged floors, etc.). Further, the continued absence of central heating meant that temperatures in the wards were very low (11°C in patients’ rooms). Such conditions made the hospital unfit for accommodating patients.