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Table of Recommendations and Practices Foreign Nationals

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Foreign Nationals in Prison

In the table of recommendations and practices below, each Article of the Council of Europe Recommendation 2012 (12) on Foreign Prisoners is included. For each of these Articles, information is collected from European Prison Services giving inspiration to its members and providing practices that support the implementation of the Recommendation. The table also contains references to the practice being a national, local or regional initiative, the legal basis and budget sources.

The table can be searched by country and by Article of the Recommendation.

Countries that are not yet included are invited to submit their data and send them to secretariat@europris.org.

V. 31.1 - Foreign prisoners shall have access to the same health care and treatment programmes that are available to other prisoners.
Country
Description of initiative
Country
Belgium
Description of initiative

note – this entry refers to immigration detainees

All their immigration detention centres are equipped with a Medical Unit. One or more colleague General Practitioners comes to the centre regularly, to have consultations open to each resident. There are also nurses and a psychologist. In some centres, there is also a psychological assistant.

National
National budget (Immigration)
Geert Verbauwhede – geert.verbauwhede@ibz.fgov.be + Louise N’Gandu – louise.ngandu@ibz.fgov.be

Country
Sweden
Description of initiative

All prisoners in the SPPS have the same right to healthcare and we do not make differences between FNP´s or Swedish prisoners.

National

V. 31.2 - Sufficient resources shall be provided to deal with specific health problems which may be faced by foreign prisoners.
Country
Description of initiative
Country
Belgium
Description of initiative

note – this entry refers to immigration detainees

Immigration Detention Centres;

When a specific health problem seems to be the case, then the general practitioner refers his patient to a specialist in a hospital or to a private specialist. Afterwards, he/she can either start an adapted treatment for his patient in the centre, and/or he/she can decide that there’s one or more follow-up specialist appointments needed.

National
National budget (Immigration)
Geert Verbauwhede – geert.verbauwhede@ibz.fgov.be + Louise N’Gandu – louise.ngandu@ibz.fgov.be

Country
Norway
Description of initiative

Room established in male high-security wing for ‘stimulating the senses and their multi-sensory perception’.

Similar facility, termed ‘relaxing room, created in Women’s wing.

Specific to Kongsvinger (Foreign National-only) Prison

Furthur information: Kristin Opaas Haugli, Reintegration coordinator / Adviser Kristin.Opaas.Haugli@kriminalomsorg.no Ploeg Gerhard (KDI) Gerhard.Ploeg@kriminalomsorg.no

V. 31.3 - Medical and health care staff working in prisons shall be enabled to deal with specific problems and diseases which may be encountered by foreign prisoners.
Country
Description of initiative
Country
Belgium
Description of initiative

note – this entry refers to immigration detainees

Immigration Detention Centres;

All medical and health care staff are offered specific training.

National
National budget (Immigration)
Geert Verbauwhede – geert.verbauwhede@ibz.fgov.be + Louise N’Gandu – louise.ngandu@ibz.fgov.be

V. 31.4 - To facilitate the health care of foreign prisoners, attention shall be paid to all aspects of communication. Such communication may require the use of an interpreter who is acceptable to the prisoner concerned and who shall respect medical confidentiality.
Country
Description of initiative
Country
Belgium
Description of initiative

note – this entry refers to immigration detainees

Immigration Detention Centres;

Preference is to use professional interpreters, although there’s not always the ability to do so.

National
National budget (Immigration)
Geert Verbauwhede – geert.verbauwhede@ibz.fgov.be + Louise N’Gandu – louise.ngandu@ibz.fgov.be

V. 31.5 - Health care shall be provided in a way that is not offensive to cultural sensitivities and requests by foreign prisoners to be examined by a medical practitioner of the same gender shall be granted as far as possible.
Country
Description of initiative
Country
Belgium
Description of initiative

note – this entry refers to immigration detainees

Immigration Detention Centres;

In the few centres where there’s female foreign prisoners, we try to have at least one female general practitioner.

National
National budget (Immigration)
Geert Verbauwhede – geert.verbauwhede@ibz.fgov.be + Louise N’Gandu – louise.ngandu@ibz.fgov.be

V. 31.6 - Where possible, psychiatric and mental health care shall be provided by specialists who have expertise in dealing with persons from different religious, cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
Country
Description of initiative
Country
Belgium
Description of initiative

note – this entry refers to immigration detainees

Immigration Detention Centres;

Our mental health care providers in the centre are offered different trainings in intercultural counselling, culture specific psychosis etc.

National
National budget (Immigration)
Geert Verbauwhede – geert.verbauwhede@ibz.fgov.be + Louise N’Gandu – louise.ngandu@ibz.fgov.be

V. 31.7 - Attention shall be paid to preventing self-harm and suicide among foreign prisoners.
Country
Description of initiative
Country
Belgium
Description of initiative

note – this entry refers to immigration detainees

Immigration Detention Centres;

Our staff knows how to observe specific symptoms of self-harming or suicidal behaviour. Once they observe this, and after multidisciplinary discussion, this person gets labelled ‘Extra Care’. There’s also special information sheets to inform staff how to deal with this specific problems.

Evidently, these persons are followed up by the psychological assistant and/or the psychologist and/or the general practitioner.

National
National budget (Immigration)
Geert Verbauwhede – geert.verbauwhede@ibz.fgov.be + Louise N’Gandu – louise.ngandu@ibz.fgov.be

V. 31.8 - Consideration shall be given to the transfer of foreign prisoners, who are diagnosed with terminal illnesses and who wish to be transferred, to a country with which they have close social links.
Country
Description of initiative
Country
Belgium
Description of initiative

note – this entry refers to immigration detainees

Immigration Detention Centres;

This is taken in consideration (see also special needs and extra care – supra  preamble)

National
National budget (Immigration)
Geert Verbauwhede – geert.verbauwhede@ibz.fgov.be + Louise N’Gandu – louise.ngandu@ibz.fgov.be

V. 31.9 - Steps shall be taken to facilitate the continuation of medical treatment of foreign prisoners who are to be transferred, extradited or expelled, which may include the provision of medication for use during transportation to that State and, with the prisoners’ consent, the transfer of medical records to the medical services of another State.
Country
Description of initiative
Country
Belgium
Description of initiative

note – this entry refers to immigration detainees

Immigration Detention Centres;

The continuation of treatment is normally foreseen for those residents that are indicated as ‘vulnerable’ by the mental health care staff and the medical staff.

National
National budget (Immigration)
Geert Verbauwhede – geert.verbauwhede@ibz.fgov.be + Louise N’Gandu – louise.ngandu@ibz.fgov.be

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European Organisation of Prison and Correctional Services (EUROPRIS)