2. Findings and recommendations 2.1. Retirement and nursing homes 2.1.1. Introduction During 2015, the year under review, the NPM visited 105 retirement and nursing facilities across Austria. Acceptance of the recommendations by the NPM is rising, with them being viewed as valuable input to improve quality. As noted by the NPM in 2014, the implementation of insights based on scientific findings and standards in the field of health care and the application of various important assessment instruments – including from the perspective of preventive human rights monitoring (e.g. for risk assessment in connection with fall prevention, pain, hygiene, malnutrition, skin damage), is necessary in all Laender. This cannot be done without sufficient – and in particular sufficiently qualified – staff. In the opinion of the NPM, the framework conditions for this must be urgently improved. Knowledge about geriatric psychiatric care, palliative nursing and medical care and psychosocial care are becoming increasingly important in view of the increasing number of residents with moderate to serious dementia. This must be included in the training and continuing education of professional nursing staff to a greater degree than before. The NPM repeats its demand of 2014 for a uniform basis across Austria for how to calculate the necessary number of staff and important structural parameters, especially staff and qualification formulas (see NPM Report 2014, p. 27 et seq.). More and better trained staff In 2015, there were occasional enquiries directed to the AOB when the time of the monitoring visits by the commissions was scheduled “too late in the day” in the opinion of the nursing home operators. This relates to visits during the period of changes between day and night shift and – more seldom – during the night shift. The commissions endeavour not to disturb the operation of the facilities and institutions more than absolutely necessary and particularly to not place undue burdens on the residents. However, the focal point in 2015 – as had been publicly announced – was to survey mealtimes and bedtimes. As a consequence, the commissions verified when bedtimes are scheduled and how they are handled. There can also be good reasons to monitor night-time operations in particular. In one case in Styria, the visit did not begin until 7:30 p.m. because there had been an anonymous report that both sides of the bed were raised at night, thus restricting the freedom of the person concerned. This was not part of care planning and had also not been reported to the representative(s) of the residents. This complaint was verified without any doubt in a number of cases by Commission 3, which entered the rooms of persons who were already sleeping only briefly and without Visits can take place at any time 27