53 the warden about ensuring that the detainees may freely contact, orally, in writing, or in person, the attorney representing them before the European Court of Human Rights. 8.2.3. National Prison of Szombathely165 The National Prison of Szombathely (hereinafter the “institution”) is one of the largest penitentiary institutions in the country and one of the two domestic penal institutions operated on the basis of a PPP166 Contract. The contractor, FMZ Savaria Services LLC (hereinafter the “Operator”), is in charge of daily operations, i.e., provisioning, servicing, and maintenance; the State supervises security operations and performs all detention-related regular and special tasks. On the day of the visit, there were 1,474 detainees registered in the Prison, of whom 1,432 were actually present, accounting for a utilization rate of 97%. The authorized number of the prison service staff is 409, of which 385 positions were filled, i.e., there was a 6% staff shortage. The shortage of prison service staff resulted mainly from unfilled healthcare personnel and driver positions. Overwork and stress, affecting the personnel, the supervisory staff, in particular, present serious difficulties in performing everyday tasks, which affects the quality of reintegration activities available to detainees, the staff’s behavior towards the inmates, and may have an adverse effect on the effectiveness of violence prevention among detainees. I suggested that the warden should take all necessary measures to fill the vacant positions. I requested the Director General of the Hungarian Prison Service to consider increasing the authorized number of staff members in order to reduce the personnel’s overworkedness. Although some of the physician positions were vacant at the Healthcare Unit, medical care provided to the detainees was adequate. It gave cause for concern that, according to some detainees, the attending physician would not prescribe any medication if they had no money on their deposit accounts. I requested the institution’s warden to ensure to appropriate provision of medications to the detainees. It was problematic that neither the text of the House Rules, nor the Prison’s actual practices were in compliance with the provisions of the Prison Code on the rules of corresponding with the penal authorities, human rights organizations specified by the law, and defense attorneys.167 I requested the institution’s warden to redress this unlawful situation. The efficient conduct of suicide prevention activities was hindered by insufficient staffing, uneven distribution of persons belonging to psychological imbalance and suicide risk groups, and by the design of the bathrooms that allowed attempts at suicide by hanging. Although manifestations of self-harming behavior were relatively frequent among the detainees, not all staff members possessed the adequate knowledge of or the skill set necessary to handle such situations. I requested the Director General of the Hungarian Prison Service to ask the Operator to remodel the partition between the shower and the toilet in a way that would prevent attempts at suicide by hanging. I also requested the Director General of the Hungarian Prison Service to ensure the organization of training sessions for prison service personnel on preventing self-mutilation and suicide. In the interest of more efficient suicide prevention, I recommended to the warden to consider increasing the number of staff members working in the cell block and on the premises of the healthcare unit, as well as to provide professional help in trauma handling for staff members witnessing or participating in treating self-harming behavior. Report № AJB-793/2017 PPP=Public Private Partnership, i.e., cooperation between the private and public spheres 167 Pursuant to Prison Code Section 174(4), „The contents of the convict’s correspondence with the authorities, international human rights organizations recognized by an international instrument promulgated by an Act, the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, the organization or staff of the National Preventive Mechanism, and the convict’s defense counsel may not be checked. If there is good reason to believe that the letters received or sent by the convict are not, in fact, sent by the authority, international organization, or defense counsel indicated on the envelop or meant to the addressee, the envelop shall be opened in the convict’s presence, simultaneously with recording the procedure. Checking may only serve the identification of the real sender.” 165 166