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Finland

Detention issue

FRA research findings

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Legal instruments & key provisions

Legal instrument Key provision
Imprisonment Act ((Vankeuslaki/Fängelselag)Prisoners have a right to health care according to their medical needs.
Act on Treatment of Persons in Police Custody (Laki poliisin säilyttämien henkilöiden kohtelusta/Lag om behandling av personer i förvar hos polisen)Persons deprived of their liberty in police custody have a right to health care according to their medical needs. In principle, same public health care services are provided for prisoners considering circumstances, as by public health care services in general. This includes dentists, and also opticians could be visited.
Act amending the Imprisonment Act (laki vankeuslain 10 luvun 1 §:n muuttamisesta/lag om ändring av 10 kap. 1 § i fängelselagen)In primary health care, a patient who contacts the health care unit on weekdays during office hours, must receive a health care professional’s assessment of the need for treatment during the same day, and access to treatment during the maximum of 14 days. In oral health care, the maximum waiting time must not exceed four months. Non-urgent follow-up treatment of patients provided at a prison hospital must be arranged within a maximum of three months of receiving the referral. In specialised health care provided in connection with primary health care, the assessment of the need for treatment must begin within three weeks, and the required treatment and a specialist’s assessment within maximum three months of receiving the referral at the unit.

NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM RECOMMENDATIONS

Year Recommendation Report
2016The NPM has recommended that police prisons should try to ensure that all persons deprived of their liberty for longer than 24 hours get to see health care professionals. The NPM recommended that the police prison should try to provide the health care professional working in the place of detention with appropriate facilities. At present, medicines were distributed in a room shared with the staff of the detention facility. As there was also no separate treatment room and patients were seen in their cells, the NPM recommended that all staff at the detention facility should pay special attention to ensuring the privacy of detained persons while they receive treatment and are being examined. The NPM recommended that any signs of physical violence be discussed with the patient and that their absence is also recorded in the patient documents. If injuries are found, an appointment with a doctor should be made for the prisoner, so that the injuries can be examined and recorded appropriately. The NPM also recommended that a prisoner placed in solitary confinement or in isolation be visited regularly. Report details
2018The Deputy-Ombudsman noted that the cooperation between the Criminal Sanctions Agency and Health Care Services for Prisoners (VTH) was not optimal with regard to taking the prisoners’ need for health care services and the availability of health care personnel resources into account in the placement of prisoners. As key players in the process, the assessment centres should be aware of the facilities’ capacity for meeting the health care needs of prisoners placed in them. VTH’s treatment guidelines require multidisciplinary cooperation in the implementation of substitution treatments. The team includes a drug and alcohol counsellor employed by the prison. In accordance with the guidelines, a drug and alcohol counsellor’s duty is to take care of the psychosocial rehabilitation of prisoners receiving substitution treatment. The guidelines also specify minimum requirements for the presence of a nurse and physician in the prison before substitution treatment can be implemented in the first place. It seemed that these requirements were not being met in all open institutions. The Deputy-Ombudsman recommended that the prisoner’s state of health should always be taken into account in the prisoner’s placement when it is known that the prisoner will have a greater than average need for health care services. At the very least, this applies to prisoners with disabilities and prisoners receiving substitution treatment. Report details
2019The Ombudsman has recommended that any person deprived of their liberty for more than 24 hours in police detention facilities should receive a health check on arrival. This recommendation has not been observed even in places where health-care professionals deliver care on a regular basis. Furthermore, the National Police Board has not provided guidance in its circular to organise health checks. However, the Western Uusimaa Police Department has notified the Ombudsman that negotiations with the manager of the Espoo sobering-up station have been initiated to enable those kept at the Espoo police prison for longer than 24 hours to be seen by a health-care professional (1201/2019* Espoo). Report details
2019Prisoners arrive at the Psychiatric Prison Hospital sometimes following an exceptionally long journey. It may have been necessary during the journey to use force or coercive methods, such as handcuffing. The Deputy-Ombudsman recommended that with each arriving prisoner, possible signs of the use of force are examined, and the prisoners are actively asked about any use of force. Report details
2020Contacts with prisoners revealed that they had not received enough information about coronavirus. The Office of the Parliamentary Ombudsman contacted the Health Care Services for Prisoners (VTH), which purpose is to provide all prisoners in Finland with health care services. VTH was requested to provide information on how prisons and prisoners had been instructed because of coronavirus. It was discovered that VTH had cooperated with the Central Administration Unit of the Criminal Sanctions Agency and the prisons. However, no information on coronavirus had been distributed to prisoners. After the Ombudsman's enquiry, VTH prepared an information sheet for prisoners in several languages. Report details
2020The Ombudsman has considered particularly problematic that no health-care personnel is present in the evenings or at weekends in most health care services for prisons. This affects, in particular, the timetable for conducting the routine medical screening on the arrival of new prisoners and examining the health of a prisoner placed in isolation. Report details
2021Health care personnel are available in the ward between 7:00 and 19:00. Once the staff have left, the patients are locked in their cells, and they can contact the prison officers using a call button. The Deputy-Ombudsman found it highly problematic that patients who have been assessed to be in need of specialised psychiatric care spend almost one half of each day without immediate supervision and attention of health care personnel. […] The Deputy-Ombudsman finds that leaving the patients without immediate supervision for long periods may risk patient safety. The absence of health care personnel also has an impact on the medical treatment of patients, as medicines administered for the night must be distributed by 19:00. In the Deputy-Ombudsman’s opinion, this is not only a question of patient safety but also of good care. The Deputy-Ombudsman stated that a nurse trained in psychiatric care should be continuously present in the unit. This statement was also brought to the attention of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. Report details
2021The Deputy-Ombudsman agreed with what was stated in the self-monitoring plan of the Psychiatric Hospital for Prisoners and noted that the hospital facilities inside the prison do not meet the needs of modern psychiatric hospital care. The hospital ward had two seclusion rooms with camera surveillance connected to the central control room of the prison. The Deputy-Ombudsman found this problematic and noted it was unclear if the prison can also use camera surveillance in situations where the prisoner has been secluded by a decision of Health Care Services for Prisoners. The Deputy-Ombudsman asked the Ministry of Justice to consider if provisions on camera surveillance in these situations should be laid down in the Imprisonment Act and the Remand Imprisonment Act. The Deputy-Ombudsman’s view was that, if this right was to be given to prison officers, it should be laid down in a legal provision. Report details