Country

Poland

Detention issue

FRA research findings

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Legal instruments & key provisions

Legal instrument Key provision
NoneNo legal standards

NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM RECOMMENDATIONS

Year Recommendation Report
2022Bearing in mind that there is an increasing number of persons in units who are dependent due to disability, age or illness and who require assistance from other inmates, the National Torture Prevention Mechanism recommends the organisation of courses for caregivers of elderly and disabled persons for willing inmates. Due to demographic changes in society, there is an increase in the number of elderly people with chronic illnesses who require care and assistance in daily activities. These changes are also evident in penitentiary units, where it is increasingly common to see people of senior age or with physical or mental disabilities. However, there is a shortage of specialists able to provide professional assistance to such people. Courses and training in this area provide qualifications and entitlements that will also be useful after leaving prison isolation. The high demand on the labour market in the above-mentioned area can facilitate vocational activation and social r-eadaptation by finding a job after leaving prison. Report details
2022As noted by the NPM, whereas there are entire penitentiary units in Poland designed particularly for persons with disabilities and cells designated for persons with disabilities, the experience of the NPM shows that very often there are architectural barriers within the units. For example, inmates in wheelchairs or on crutches have to climb the stairs or high thresholds to get to the infirmary, visiting room, library, chapel or warehouse. During the visits, the NPM also observed situations where the door to the entrance of the walking field was too narrow for a wheelchair to pass through. Blind, visually impaired or deaf persons may also face significant difficulties. In this area, too, the majority of penitentiary units do not meet adequate requirements for these persons to be able to fully enjoy all the rights and privileges as healthy persons in isolation. According to the NPM, many of the problems raised in the 2019 thematic report on the treatment of prisoners with sensory disabilities198 still remain relevant. Report details
2022In the context of mental health conditions, the NPM observes a progressive inefficiency of the penitentiary system when isolating people with mental disorders. This problem is also highlighted by the Prison Service officers themselves. Many times these persons should be subjected to specialised psychiatric treatment, which is not possible in penitentiary isolation (apart from the use of psychotropic drugs). The situation is not improved by the fact that access to a psychiatrist is difficult. In practice, it is rare for penitentiary units to employ even one such specialist on a full-time basis. Report details
2023In 2022 the NPM visited a unit where the prison hospital has the only general surgery unit in the country. The information provided during the visit indicated that the waiting time for admission to the unit was approximately five months. The representatives of the KMPT were informed that, despite the development of a list of surgical procedures possible to be carried out in the conditions of the general surgery ward, there are cases of inmates in moderately severe and severe health conditions being brought to the Hospital of the Remand Centre in Bydgoszcz from other units, sometimes very far away, without prior agreement. These persons often require urgent treatment in non-prison healthcare facilities and are then referred to Bydgoszcz hospitals. (...) taking into account, first and foremost, the good of the patients and the necessity to provide them with adequate medical care in the shortest possible time, in the NPM's opinion, the treatment of inmates in emergency conditions should be carried out in liberty facilities located closest to the penitentiary unit in which they are incarcerated. Report details