Report of the Human Rights Defender on the activities of the National Preventive Mechanism in Poland in 2014 As regards visits, the visitors expressed their reservations about limiting the group of visitors in four visited hospitals, contrary to the abovementioned laws. In three of them, with respect to individual wards, there were restrictions as regards visits of children who are under 15 years of age220. However, in another establishment, patients unable to express their will could be visited only by their immediate family. Reservations regarding persons visiting incapacitated patients, who are kept in the establishment, could also be voiced by their legal guardians, which – as the representatives of the NPM assess – is in excess of the powers of the persons concerned221. Visits should be allowed only based on patients’ mental state and a situation in a specific ward. Moreover, no rule of law provides for an age limit of persons visiting patients. In addition to protecting private life and strengthening social bonds, the child’s best interest is a special value that needs to be protected. Therefore, arbitrary rules on the age of visitors must be eliminated and the issue must be addressed individually, depending on individual circumstances. It is also worth noting that, if visiting conditions in the ward are inadequate and may expose a  juvenile visiting a  psychiatric hospital to traumatic experiences, proper conditions should be created outside the ward to enable juveniles to meet patients. Hospital personnel must not control or monitor visits to patients, as was the case in one of the establishments222. Pursuant to Article 47 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, everyone has the right to protection of his/her private life. Under the provision, patients must be provided with a sense of privacy during their meetings with persons from outside the establishment. Another restriction on patients’ rights was a condition that patients may use their mobile phones if they cannot take photographs with them or that they are not allowed to use them at all for fear of using them to record and take photographs of others223. The representatives of the NPM believe that the restriction referred to above has no basis in current legislation. It should also be noted that most new mobile phones have built-in cameras and limiting the scope of their models may expose patients to additional costs. Patients wishing to use their own cameras may e.g. cover the lens with a piece of security tape (if the tape is removed, it cannot be used once again, which makes it possible for hospital personnel to detect any attempts of recording or photographing). Hospitals in: Łódź, Jarosław, Choroszcz. Hospital in Bolesławiec. 222 Hospital in Choroszcz. 223 Hospitals in: Bolesławiec, Jarosław, Choroszcz. 220 221 62