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9. Persons deprived of their liberty at the places of detention visited by the NPM
any fundamental-rights-related impropriety was because it focused on the
chief objective, i.e. that residents are provided sufficient nutrition. Nonetheless, I pointed out that special attention should be paid to the adequate
nutrition of residents receiving a fluid diet, and if necessary, their diet must
be supplemented by formulas with controlled nutritional content.
According to the physician, maintaining the blood sugar level of residents
affected by diabetes was a frequent problem, which could most likely be put
down to the non-compliance with the dietetic menu. The members of the
staff also reported that the residents sitting at the same table would eat from
each other ’s plates. I pointed out that during their care, the residents need
to be monitored appropriately in that respect as well. I asked the head of the
Institution to do his/her best to ensure that residents on a special diet keep to
their diet, including their continuous supervision and dietetic education.
Some residents received visitors more frequently than others. Some of
them were visited by their relatives on a weekly basis, and were taken home
by their beloved every two weeks as well as for Christmas and major holidays. Half of the residents were never visited by their family members. There
were cases when a relative or a guardian could not make it, but called on
the phone to say that he/she would come at another time. One of the staff
members was of the view that professional guardians came to visit more frequently. Relatives who were appointed as guardians often failed to come.
On the basis of the minutes of the 2016 and 2017 meetings of the Advocacy Forum, it could be established that the Forum discussed some important
issues on the substance. The Advocacy Forum did not operate at the time of
the visit because due to the passing away of one of its members; the election
of the new member was still in progress. The patients’ rights representative
had consulting hours once a month. There was no complaint box at the
Institution that could have been an efficient means of lodging complaints.
I requested that the head of the Institution make a complaint box available
for submitting complaints anonymously.
At the time of the visit, the Institution employed 1 manager, 46 nurses-carers (including 2 unit manager nurses), 4 social workers, 1 social administrator,
2 employment managers and 3 developmental class assistants. One of the
nurses-carers on maternal leave was substituted by another staff member.
The nurses were overworked. In one shift, there were two qualified nurses
and a nurse trainee looking after 60 residents. The number of persons working as nurses and carers, including those auxiliary nurses who had agreed to
obtain a certificate as specialized nurses, did not reach the norm concerning
the number of professional staff stipulated by Annex 2 of the MoSFA Decree.181
I requested that the Institution increase the number of nurses and carers in
181
Pursuant to Sections 6(5) and (12) of the MoSFA Decree.
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