Medical and non-medical staff (59) from all penitentiary institutions across the Republic of Moldova were trained on areas of critical importance for health care delivery in prison environments, such as medical examination upon admission to prison, including the management of individual medical files, and medical ethics within the prison system.

The training sessions were held from 14 to 20 May 2025 in Chisinau and addressed key topics such as screening for mental health issues, drug use, and infectious diseases that increase vulnerability, risk of discrimination and ill-treatment of these inmates. Additional subjects included ensuring equal access to health care, patient consent and confidentiality, equivalence of care with community health services, professional independence, the treatment of inmates with special needs, and the management of ethically challenging situations.

The sessions raised the awareness of penitentiary personnel about the importance of interprofessional cooperation in safeguarding the health of the prison population, of the importance of early detection of health conditions, identification of mental health and substance use disorders and the development of a trustful patient-healthcare provider relationship, based on principles of medical ethics.

These trainings covered the second group of prison staff, as part of broader efforts to improve health care for inmates and better equip prison staff to handle health-related challenges. The sessions were organised under the auspices of Council of Europe Project “Further strengthening the prison and probation system, the provision of health care, and the treatment of patients in closed institutions in the Republic of Moldova.”