Report of the Human Rights Defender on the activities of the National Preventive Mechanism in Poland in 2012 remained in such establishments, due to a  lack of adequate care/accommodation in the outside community232. During their visits to psychiatric hospitals, the representatives of the Mechanisms also encountered patients no longer required to be detained in a psychiatric establishment, but still needed treatment and/or care in the outside community. The CPT stated that for persons to remain deprived of their liberty as a result of the absence of appropriate external facilities is a highly questionable state of affairs. The National Preventive Mechanism is of the opinion that a psychiatric ward/ hospital should not at the same time be a place of diagnosis and therapy for patients requiring hospital treatment and a place of living for persons who do not require hospital treatment but permanent institutional care. Patients staying in the ward for many years should be transferred to e.g. social care centres. A detained patient cannot be admitted to a social care centre as long as the decision on applying a preventive measure consisting in the placement in a psychiatric establishment is not overruled. Therefore, in order to ensure continuous care and supervision, the decision on detention should be repealed and the decision on placement in a social care centre for chronically mentally ill should be made at the same time. However, this is difficult to achieve since the decision repealing the preventive measure and the decision on placement in a social care centre are made by two different, independent courts: criminal court and family court. 4. Failure to appoint the Ombudsman for Psychiatric Hospital Patients’ Rights in some hospitals. The representatives of the NPM found out that the Ombudsman for Psychiatric Hospital Patients’ Rights referred to in Article 10a-10d of the Act on the protection of mental health was not appointed in a part of visited establishments. The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture on numerous occasions emphasized that an effective complaints procedure is a basic safeguard against ill-treatment in psychiatric establishments. Specific arrangements should exist enabling patients to lodge formal complaints with a clearly-designated body, and to communicate on a confidential basis with an appropriate authority outside the establishment.233 The representatives of the National Preventive Mechanism are of the opinion that all establishments providing psychiatric care should employ the Ombudsman for Psychiatric Hospital Patients’ Rights who would provide support to and run the affairs of mentally ill persons which would improve the observance of their rights. § 57 of the 8th General Report CPT/Inf (98). § 53 of the 8th General Report CPT/Inf (98). 232 233 92