Romania: Strengthening the provision of health care and mental health care in prisons

The Council of Europe implemented a 24-month project to support Romania in its efforts to strengthen the provision of health care and mental health care in their prisons in line with the Council of Europe standards and ECtHR case law.

The project was implemented by the Cooperation in Police and Deprivation of Liberty Unit in cooperation with the main partners, the Ministry of Justice, the National Administration of Penitentiaries and the Ministry of Health.

To this end, the project focused on policy, regulatory framework and operational approaches:

Policy and regulatory framework level:

The project supported the development of a strategy/policy document on human resources in order to attract medical staff to work in prison system and assisted the Romanian authorities with legal analysis and recommendations on improving the regulatory framework on the provision of health care in prison system.

2. Operational level:

The project enhanced knowledge and skills of medical and no-medical staff on medical ethics specific for the prison environment, such as respect of patient confidentiality, as well as recording injuries, especially injuries resulted from ill-treatment, and on the health screening process of inmates upon admission in prison.

The project developed protocols to deal with prisoners suffering from mental health problems and increased the capacities of medical and non-medical staff to provide health care to patients suffering from mental health issues.

The project started on 1 January 2022 and was completed on 31 December 2023 with a total budget of 440.000 Euros financed by the Human Rights Trust Fund.

Project documentation

Useful information

Media corner

project news

Back 15 medical staff of the Romanian Penitentiary system trained as future trainers

During a 2-phase training of trainers on recording injuries and screening upon admission, 15 representatives of medical personnel of the Romanian Penitentiary system were trained as future trainers.

The training lead by local and international consultants covered issues such as the Istanbul Protocol, importance of proper recording in line with European standards, national legislation and current practice of documenting torture in Romania, physical and psychological evidence of torture and methods of torture. The training included a practical component with simulated interviews and role plays. The trainees had a possibility to test their knowledge by filling in a special form for documenting injuries. The participants found the training rather useful and relevant for their work.

The trainees are now expected to impart their knowledge on to colleagues throughout the whole Penitentiary System of Romania.

The training sessions were organised on 25-26 April and 16-18 May within the framework of the Council of Europe cooperation project ”Strengthening the provision of health care and mental health care in prisons in Romania” which aims to assist the Romanian authorities in their efforts to improve health care provided to prisoners as well as psychiatric care in line with the Council of Europe standards and the European Court of Human Rights case-law.

Romania 25.05.2023