Strenghtening prison health care in Greece
The project supports the Greek authorities’ efforts to develop policies and adopt measures in the area of provision of health care and overcrowding in prisons. Council of Europe expertise will address the shortcomings identified by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) and will enhance the execution of European Court of Human Rights judgments.
Prison healthcare system in Greece is currently in transition. Ministry of Citizens Protection remains in close cooperation with the Ministry of Health and the competent authorities of Primary Health Care following the strategic decision to gradually incorporate prison health care in the public health care.
The project is in line with the Strategic Plan for Crime Prevention Policy 2018-2020, Strategic Objective 6: Health services in prisons and Strategic objective 3: Reducing overcrowding in collaboration with the MoH. CoE has provided expertise for the development of the Strategic Plan and is following its implementation. The project will directly support the implementation of the Strategic Plan, being the first consistent and coherent effort to set the goals and define the strategy and basic principles of the penitentiary policy in Greece.
The Action started on 1 June 2019 and will be completed on 31 May 2021 with an overall budget of 600.000 Euros financed by the Council of Europe Human Rights Trust Fund.
Project documentation
Useful information
Prison staff in Greece trained on mental health care
As a result of Training for Trainers organized early in October, a prison psychologist, now a trainer from the pool of trainers, delivered under the guidance of a Council of Europe consultant a training to the peer prison staff on 22-23 November in Chania, Crete. The cascade training was based on...
Prison doctors and nursing staff trained in Greece on Council of Europe standards
Ten members of the prison medical staff (doctor and nurses) from different prisons across Greece, benefited from a 3-day Training of Trainers (ToT) course that took place in Athens from 8 to 10 November 2021. The participating doctors and nurses enhanced their knowledge on health care issues...
Prison overcrowding report discussed with key stakeholders in Greece
A roundtable brought together in Athens, on 22 October 2021, representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Citizen Protection, Probation Service, and the judiciary, to discuss the findings and the recommendations of a report on combating prison overcrowding in Greece. The report was...
Training of Trainers on mental health care – Greece
To ensure the application of the “Guide on Self-harm in prisons” and the “Training curricula on mental health care” prepared within the project “Strengthening prison health care in Greece”, a 3-day training of trainers was organized in Athens, Greece on 11-13 October. The training was held in...
Support for community service in Greece
In line with a report on combating prison overcrowding prepared by the Council of Europe experts and with the aim of enhancing implementation of community sanctions and measures, a meeting has been held with members of a Committee appointed by the Ministry of Justice tasked with preparing the...
Council of Europe publications made available in Greek
The use of alternative sanctions and the improvement of health care services in prisons in Greece, have been further promoted through three Council of Europe publications which have been translated and made available in Greek The functioning of probation service in Greece remains a challenge...
Training of Trainers on mental health care
To support prison healthcare staff in addressing mental health needs of prisoners in Greece, a 3-day Training of Trainers (ToT) was organized from 29 to 31 March 2021. Ten prison psychologists were trained on the training curriculum for penitentiary scientific staff developed within the Project...
Protocol on medical screening upon admission to prison in Greece
A draft new Protocol on medical screening upon admission to prison was finalized on 23 March 2021 by a Working Group (WG) composed of experts from the Ministry of Citizen Protection and supported by the Council of Europe consultant/s. The WG agreed on a series of key medical examinations that can...
Second Steering Committee Meeting of the project „Strenghtening prison health care in Greece“
The Second Steering Committee (SC) meeting of the project „Strenghtening prison health care in Greece“, took place online on 25 February 2020 with the participation of representatives of the Greek Ministry of Citizen Protection and the Ministry of Justice. The SC assessed the results achieved in...
European Prison Rules
CPDL Highlights
