Report of the Human Rights Defender on the activities of the National Preventive Mechanism in Poland in 2012 cultural and educational activities and the process of adapting community rooms for residential purposes, revealed by National Preventive Mechanism members during visits to penitentiary units, thus prove that the Prison Service continues to underestimate the role of these activities for prisoners. 5. Insufficient provision of hygiene products to inmates and insufficient frequency of showers for men. Another systemic problem in penitentiary units is insufficient provision of hygiene products to inmates and insufficient frequency of taking showers by men. The Human Rights Defender became aware of these problems and highlighted them in her general petitions of 8 December 201148 and of 1 February 2012.49 In the opinion of the NPM representatives, it is necessary to change the provisions of Appendix 1 to the Ordinance of the Minister of Justice of 17 October 2003 on the living conditions of inmates of prisons and pre-trial detention centres50 entitled “Set 1/H Hygiene products for inmates.” As to a change in the frequency of showers, an amendment to provisions is not necessary as the current provisions allow more than one shower a week for men. As to both issues, the Minister of Justice expressed an opinion that the necessary amendments must be introduced, yet in the first case the time frame has not been defined. As to the latter issue, he stated that showers in penitentiary units will be modernised in 2013-2015. Therefore, it should be reminded that issues related to personal hygiene should be given priority.51 6. Serving penalty of deprivation of liberty in the therapeutic system. Thematic visits to therapeutic wards for inmates with non-psychotic mental disturbances revealed a number of problems significant from the point of view of the NPM Department, i.e. the cohesion of the legal system in terms of ensuring the protection of the rights of inmates in such wards from torture or other inhuman treatment or punishment. In the opinion of representatives of the National Preventive Mechanism, in order to strengthen the actual protection of the rights of prisoners serving their imprisonment sentences in therapeutic wards it is necessary to: RPO-641650-II-702/10/JN http://www.sprawy-generalne.brpo.gov.pl/szczegoly.php?pismo=1610730. 49 RPO-550137-II-702/07/MM http://www.sprawy-generalne.brpo.gov.pl/szczegoly.php?pismo=1621857. 50 Dz. U. No 186, item 1820. 51 The draft Ordinance of the Minister of Justice of 7 March 2013 on the living conditions of inmates of prisons and pre-trial detention centres has been published at the Prison Service’s website. It should be noted that its entry into force would ‘handle’ the Defender’s petition RPO-550137-II -702/07/MM. 48 30