alleged violence against a patient and sending a notification to the investigating authority. Also, in 2020, the State Agency for Regulation of Medical and Pharmaceutical Activities has not examined the cases of involuntary hospitalization of patients receiving formally voluntary psychiatric care. For protection of the patients’ rights, it is essential the institutions to introduce a unified in-hospital complaints review and feedback procedure, which should be human rights centered, accessible, simple, fair and transparent. It should be noted that despite the recommendation issued by the Public Defender, the Law of Georgia on Psychiatric care still fails to regulate complaints review and feedback procedures. Methods of physical restraint were also specified at the legislative level. Notwithstanding the abovenoted, a number of important issues related to restraint procedures remain beyond the legislative regulation. In particular, the Law on Psychiatric Care only refers to verbal reassurance and medical treatment as methods of de-escalation,384 while many other effective methods of de-escalation exist. In addition, the instruction on the implementation of physical restraint was not amended to determine the obligation to develop a special register / journal; place and circumstances of the restriction; specific characteristics of used special means; obligation to document the injury and staff obligation to interview the patient. The Public Defender has been discussing the problem of long-term hospitalization for years and considers that the measures should be taken immediately to solve this problem. The first task is to assess the needs of the patients placed in the psychiatric institutions for more than 6 months in order to discharge them from the institution and refer them to the community-based services, as well as to develop a plan for setting up housing based on the number of future beneficiaries of the shelter. Unfortunately, this was not done in the reporting year. The Ministry informed us with a letter that, within the technical assistance of the French Development Agency, a study on the geographical location of services is underway, which will form the basis for the development of a plan for the deinstitutionalization of mental health services. With one of the recommendations, the Public Defender, aiming the deinstitutionalization in the psychiatric institutions in 2020, demanded the assessment of the patients and the transfer of those beneficiaries to the services close to the family environment who do not require inpatient treatment. This recommendation has been partially implemented. It should be noted that in 2019, long-term housing designed for 24 beneficiaries was opened in Batumi. In addition, according to the information provided by the Ministry, 4 more housings will be built in Kutaisi, Poti and Senaki during 2021-2022. The Public Defender welcomes the activities of the Ministry and further notes that the measures to be taken in terms of housing should be based on needs assessment and evidence. However, it is important one institution not to replace another, the newly created one, as the institutions are not compatible with deinstitutionalization policies. In order for service beneficiaries to become independent and have the opportunity to engage in public life, it is important for the state to prioritize accelerating the 384 Law on Psychiatric Care, Article 16.1 118