Report of the Human Rights Defender on the activities of the National Preventive Mechanism in Poland in 2012 the care and medical treatment department or a  nurse on duty decide whether the physical and mental condition of the resident enables him or her to leave the centre on their own or whether the residents must be accompanied by a carer. The persons who can go out on their own must each time specify the purpose of going out and the predicted time of return. The discretion in the procedures governing the leaving of the centres by residents is due to the lack of legal regulations in this area. The regulations in place do not stipulate how to proceed with persons who were placed in social care centres as a result of a court’s judgment, who do not pose a threat and are referred to the centres because they are unable to meet their basic needs and with the persons who stay in a  given centre voluntarily, but their physical and mental condition does not allow them to leave the centre. The analysed issue is regulated in part in Article 40(3) of the Act on the protection of mental health. Pursuant to the provision, if the mentally ill or mentally disabled person behaves in a way putting at risk his or her life or health, or life or health of other persons, coercive measures may be used against such persons, also to prevent them from leaving the social care centres. According to the representatives of the NPM, the provision does not provide grounds for permanent or temporary isolation of residents or even for requiring consent of the personnel of the social care centre for the residents’ going out of the centre. Therefore, due to the lack of relevant legal regulations, the solutions introduced in the visited centres must be considered to unlawfully restricting the personal freedom of the residents. This conclusion stems from the analysis of Article 31(3) of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland which lists grounds required to apply restrictions on the use of constitutional rights and freedoms. 3.  Psychological and psychiatric care Pursuant to § 6(2)(2) of the Ordinance on social care centres187, the contact with a psychologist must be provided for residents and the contact with a psychiatrist for persons staying in a centre for chronically mentally ill people. However, the provisions do not specify the frequency of such contacts and do not stipulate whether social care centres must employ psychologists and psychiatrists or whether they should work full or part-time at the centres. The current legal situation results in too far-reaching discretion in ensuring psychological and psychiatric care by social care centres to their residents. The problem is well illustrated by the findings of the representatives of the Mechanism revealing that a part of visited centres did not employ a psychologist at all, employed a psychologist only part-time (2 shifts for 2 hours 187 Dz. U. of 2012, item 964. 80