Hospitals and psychiatric institutions psychiatric hospitals are included in guidelines and mandatory reporting is introduced pursuant to the Hospitalisation Act. Reporting measures that restrict freedom Another area of contention in the day-to-day routine of psychiatric hospitals emanates from the Supreme Court jurisdiction stipulating that every application of measures that restrict freedom must be reported immediately, that is without any delay. This obligation applies regardless of whether vacation-related delays can be expected in the procedure in isolated cases. However, the NPM observed that the organisational procedures required have still not been implemented on a nationwide basis. Reports are still not submitted immediately, in particular on Sundays, public holidays and weekends. On the other hand, due to the continued emphatic confrontation of the issue by the NPM, the medical facilities have now indicated that they are willing to close existing “time gaps” through IT solutions and streamlining of the reporting procedure for example. Extension of video interpreting system The increasingly problematic intercultural care of patients poses a continuing challenge for psychiatric hospitals. Language barriers can lead to communication problems that result in misjudgement in the area of nursing and medical treatment. The extended use of video interpreters in hospitals is increasingly helping to bring about the necessary improvement in communication. Video interpreting systems were installed in all regional hospitals in Lower Austria in the first six months of 2017. Measures were also taken to expand the already existing video interpreting systems in Vienna. However, expansion of this nature is not only advisable for foreign languages but should also be used to improve communication with certain patients (e.g. sign language). This ensures that an interpreter can be involved in the treatment setting without delay. A further positive development is the willingness of some hospitals to acquire less severe solutions to avoid using measures that restrict freedom, e.g. low beds or sensor floor mats. It is thus possible to reduce restrictions of the freedom of movement to the required minimum level. Security deployment 44 The NPM also criticised the deployment of the security service in Innsbruck Regional Hospital, University Hospital for Psychiatry, in 2017, as the security service was granted extensive powers (see NPM Report 2016, p. 56 et seq.). Thereafter, the Tyrol clinics agreed on further procedures at a meeting with representatives of the University Hospital for Psychiatry and the cooperative management of Innsbruck Regional Hospital, the Police Department of Tyrol and the local Innsbruck police. As recommended by the NPM, it was agreed that only health care staff are authorised to take measures that restrict freedom, such as detention or returning the patient to the psychiatric ward. This also applies in cases of accompanied transportation. Insofar as patients under the Hospitalisation Act escape, the police will have to be called in future if these patients pose a threat to third parties. The security service shall thus