22 npm annual report 2016 /observations and recommendations • In two police prisons, it was noted that persons deprived of their liberty had not understood the information they had been given about their rights. The Deputy-Ombudsman pointed out to the staff of the police prisons that persons deprived of their liberty must be informed of their rights in a comprehensible manner. • Health care arrangements have room for improvement in all police prisons. Most police departments do not enjoy regular visits from health care staff. Instead, persons deprived of their liberty are taken to health centres when necessary. • When persons deprived of their liberty arrive at the facility, they are not given a health examination and their health is not checked during the deprivation of liberty unless they request it. The Deputy-Ombudsman has recommended that police prisons should try to ensure that all persons deprived of their liberty for longer than 24 hours get to see a health care professional. The Deputy-Ombudsman has required that all persons deprived of their liberty be told upon arrival about their right to receive health care in the place of detention, at their own expense, with the permission of a doctor arranged by the police. The Deputy-Ombudsman has emphasised that a detained person’s need for treatment must always be assessed by a health care professional and not by, for example, a police investigator. This applies to all forms of health care, including oral health care. • The practices of distributing and recording medication vary. Warders have received training in the distribution of medication only in exceptional cases, and medicines are not always stored appropriately. The Deputy-Ombudsman 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 Deputy-Ombudsman 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 (Vantaa).