It would thus be desirable to regulate this issue by commonly applicable law, e.g. by introducing measures which are analogous to a court’s surrogate consent to provide a healthcare service, provided for in the Physician and Dentist Professions Act135 or a consent to a placement in a psychiatric hospital136. Use of direct coercion measures in 24 hour care facilities According to the NMPT there is a lack of a provision to regulate the use of direct coercion measures in 24 hour care facilities. The NMPT holds that if direct coercion measures are used by the personnel of such facilities, this is illegal and may be deemed a forbidden act (violating bodily integrity or unlawful detention). This matter was referred to the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Polish by the Commissioner for Human Rights in 2016, but despite the Minister’s declaration to take actions concerning amendments to legislation, this issue still remains unresolved137. Video surveillance On one hand, installing video cameras is undoubtedly good for improving security at a facility, but on the other hand it may result in interference with inmates’ and personnel’s privacy as well as the privacy of other people who are present at the facility subject to surveillance. For such measures to be used legally it is necessary that they meet the requirements defined by Article 31.3 of the Constitution, including the requirement of limitation by statute. This is especially important in the context of respecting the right to privacy defined in Article 47 of the Constitution. The staff of social care homes acting as legal guardians of the incapacitated persons A legal guardian should monitor whether his/her ward is provided with appropriate care and whether his/her dignity is not violated. The personnel of social care homes may have it difficult to be objective when acting as legal guardians of the inmates.138. Alcohol abuse by some inmates and insufficient number of facilities for inmates suffering from alcohol issues Inmates with alcohol issues live in the majority of social care homes for the elderly or for those suffering from chronic physical disorders (ok. 10% of the inmates). They are not provided with appropriate care there and they distort the operation of such facilities. Despite change of law which enables 135 136 137 138 See Art. 32 of Physician and Dentist Professions Act of 5 December 1996 (Journal of Laws (Dz. U.) of 2020 item 514 consolidated text). This issue was described in more detail i.a. in the Report of Commissioner of Human Rights on the operation of the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture in 2018. ibid ibid Report of the Commissioner for Human Rights on the activities of the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture in Poland in 2019 59