A draft Strategy and Action Plan on attracting more medical personal in the penitentiary system was presented and discussed on 28 February 2023 in close cooperation with the National Administration of Penitentiaries and with all involved stakeholders. It was followed by the last working group session (six in total) which took into account the discussion that followed the presentation and agreed the final content of the Strategy and its Action Plan.

The series of six working group sessions brought together representatives of different institutions and provided platform to discuss the challenges hindering the number of medical staff working in the penitentiary system, the proposed solutions, and the importance of implementing the European Court of Human Rights pilot judgement in the case of Bragadireanu/Rezmives v. Romania, and in the case of Ticu v. Romania in the light of the developed draft Strategy and Action Plan.

High level officials from the Ministry of Justice, National Administration of Penitentiaries, and Ministry of Health stressed necessity of addressing promptly the issue of shortage of medical personnel and importance of strategic approach and concrete actions in this direction. According to the State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Mr George-Bogdan Ilea, the Strategy and Action Plan are of high importance to create a framework on short, medium and long term in order to tackle these issues.

The draft Strategy and Action Plan were developed by an intersectoral Working Group with an active participation of the representatives of National Administration of Penitentiaries, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health and Board of Physicians in close coordination with the Council of Europe local and international consultants.

Its content was endorsed by all Working Group members and will be submitted to the National Administration of Penitentiaries for its approval. The highest official approval at government level is desirable in order to ensure its smooth implementation.

These events were organised within the framework of the project “Strengthening the provision of health care and mental health in prisons in Romania” financed by Human Rights Trust Fund of the Council of Europe.