In addition to taking actions on individual complaints, special attention is also paid to
regulations which provide a legal framework for the treatment of persons with mental
disorders and are therefore important for improving the rights of this group of citizens. As a
result, our opinion on the draft Proposal of the Act on the Protection of Persons with Mental
Disorders, which is covered in Section 2.2, was delivered to the Ministry of Justice in October
2013.
Furthermore, on several occasions we have pointed out the lack of appropriate mental health
care services at the local level, whose activities would, inter alia, reduce the rate of
institutionalisation of persons with mental disorders and facilitate their staying with their own
families. Pursuant to the Health Care Act, health care at the primary level also includes mental
health care, which is provided through activities of mental health care, prevention and
outpatient treatment of addiction. In September 2010 the Government of the Republic of
Croatia adopted the National Strategy for Mental Health Care for the period 2011 - 2016. One
of the priority areas of action is the fight against the stigma and social exclusion of persons
with mental illness but, based on the information available to us, so far the actions in this area
were insufficient. The strengthening of mental health care services at the local level would
reduce the need for committing a person into a psychiatric institution without his/her consent.
Involuntary hospitalisation should be used only and exclusively in those extreme situations
when a person with a more severe mental disorder is seriously and directly endangering
his/her own life, health or safety, or the life, health or safety of other persons, and all actions
of services and institutions in the field of mental health care for persons with mental disorders
should be focused on the protection of their dignity, human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Considering the potential controversies in the field of involuntary medical treatment of
persons with mental disorders, the Ombudswoman shall devote special attention to this issue
within the NPM activities in 2014.
2. Performance of activities of the National Preventive Mechanism
2.1. Visits to establishments where persons deprived of their liberty are placed
Within the performance of activities of the National Preventive Mechanism in 2013, we
carried out twelve regular visits during which we visited six establishments under the
authority of the Ministry of Justice, five under the authority of the Ministry of the Interior and
one under the authority of the Ministry of Defence. These are: Turopolje Correctional
Institute; Glina State Prison; Commanding Company of the Croatian Navy – Sv. Nikola –
Lora; Police Detention Unit of the Split-Dalmatia County Police Administration; Prison
Hospital; Poreč Police Station; Rovinj Police Station; Umag Police Station; Police Detention
Unit of the Istria County Police Administration; Pula County Prison; Lepoglava State Prison
and Zagreb County Prison.
These visits lasted the total of twenty six days, with the shortest visit of one day and the
longest of five days. In accordance with the plan established in advance, all visits were