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.

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PROJECT NEWS

Back Second Steering Committee Meeting of the project „Strenghtening prison health care in Greece“

@ Council of Europe

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 the previous period and challenges related to the implementation of the activities. The participants were informed about the progress achieved on initial medical screening upon arrival in prison, on self-harm behaviour and prevention of suicide, on capacity building for mental health care and on prison overcrowding. The SC discussed the use and dissemination of three Council of Europe publications on prison health care and community measures and sanctions which have been translated in Greek and shared with the Greek authorities.

The SC members also discussed and adopted the Work Plan for the upcoming period (Jan-May 2021). A potential extention of the duration of the project has been discussed that woudl be needed in order to mitigate the consequences of Covid-19 medical emergency.

The project „Strenghtening prison health care in Greece“ is funded by the Council of Europe Human Rghts Trust Fund and implemented by the Criminal Law Cooperation Unit (DG I).

Greece 1 March 2021