Report of the CHR on the Activities of the National Preventive Mechanism in Poland
the conditions that must be met by the rooms and devices in sobering-up stations. The patients of the station had only one bathroom with a toilet, one shower, and one sink at their
disposal. Moreover, the said room is not adapted to the needs of persons with disabilities.
Additionally, in line with the explanations provided by the staff members, all intoxicated
persons are obliged to change into substitute clothing. Therefore, the sobering-up station
continues to require the persons brought to sober up to change into substitute clothing
when they do not consent to it, and their sanitary-hygienic condition does not require it. It
must also be emphasized that some of the belts used in the sobering-up station was damaged or destroyed, and required replacement.
During the reinspection at the Sobering-up station in Rzeszów, the representatives of
NPM recognized that some of the recommendations were implemented fully or partially.
The cases of rendering healthcare services in the presence of persons other than the necessary medical personnel. The substitute clothing was also replaced with clothing that fully
covers the private body parts. The rooms of the sobering-up station provided for persons
brought to sober up were equipped with devices for persons with mobility disabilities. The
document “Rights of persons brought to the Sobering-up Station in Rzeszów” was placed at
a place accessible to persons brought to the station so that they could read it during they
stay at the station. Patient examinations were taking place in a medical room in the conditions that ensured privacy. However, the representatives of NPM recommended during
the reinspection that doors should be installed in the medical room in order to keep the
medical information confidential, as separating the medical room from the corridor with
a curtain does not guarantee it. In order to determine the degree of implementation of the
recommendations for equipping the rooms in the sobering-up station for persons brought
to sober up with the equipment for persons with mobility disabilities, the representatives
examined the station. The conclusions derived from the inspection show that the rooms are
partially adapted to the needs of persons with disabilities, yet the audit of certain parameters
in this respect raised doubts. The width of the entrances and exits was less than 90 cm, there
was not enough manoeuvring space in the bathroom, the height of the shower base in the
bathroom for men was as much as 7.5 cm, the hoisting installation in one of the bathrooms
was placed to high, which made it impossible for a person on a wheelchair to use it.
However, like in the sobering-up station described above, the recommendation to cease
the practice of compulsory undressing of patients was not complied with. Randomly analysed CCTV monitoring recordings clearly showed that the patients are still undressed
forcibly at the station. Moreover, no cooperation with a psychologist/therapist was initiated, whose task would be to talk to the persons leaving the station about the negative
consequences of alcohol consumption and about informing about the treatment options.
The director of the station explained that the station does not dispose of the sufficient funds
to cover the costs of hiring such a person. Moreover, it was noticed that the station is not
equipped with a calling system that allows for calling a staff member if needed, which is
contrary to Article 6(2) of the ordinance on sobering-up stations.
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