Report of the Human Rights Defender on the activities of the National Preventive Mechanism in Poland in 2012 types of centres may be combined provided that each of them is located in a separate building which was not the case in the visited social care centres. In one of the social care centres190 all residents were staying voluntarily (at the time of the visit). However, the contact with some of them was impossible or very difficult due to their problems with autopsychic and allopsychic orientation. Therefore, there are doubts as to whether the residents were able to consciously consent to their stay in the centre. In another social care centre191 an expert of the NPM (psychiatrist) noticed that schizophrenia was diagnosed in some residents right before their admission to the centre, although previously, for many years, they have been diagnosed as mentally disabled or having personality disorders. The documentation at the social care centre did not allow the expert to verify her suspicion that such a sudden diagnosis of schizophrenia could serve as a  justification for admission of those persons to the specific type of social care centre. It is particularly alarming if the admission takes place based on the court’s decision. 2. Treatment Despite the good atmosphere in all visited establishments, the personnel’s knowledge about needs and preferences of individual residents and assurance of the majority of residents that they are well taken care of, the representatives of the Mechanism received some signals about incidents of inappropriate treatment of the residents by the employees of the social care centres. They received information about the cases of the violation of bodily integrity, e.g. pulling somebody’s hair, urging192, pushing193, inappropriate addressing of residents194, calling the residents by their first names195. The representatives of the NPM each time remind that using physical violence constitutes inhuman treatment and as such it is unacceptable. Addressing the residents in a way violating their dignity should be eliminated and the calling by first names should be only on a reciprocal basis and with consent of the resident. During the visit to one of the centres196, the representatives of the Mechanisms found out that one of the residents, who abused alcohol, was on numerous Social Care Centre in Mogilno. Social Care Centre in Grudziądz. 192 Social Care Centre in Ruda Śląska. 193 Social Care Centre in Olkusz. 194 Social Care Centre in Ruda Śląska, Social Care Centre in Koronowo. 195 Social Care Centre in Choroszcz, Social Care Centre in Racibórz. 196 Social Care Centre in Olkusz. 190 191 84