rooms of residents and common areas to be aesthetically equipped and furnished with the help of relatives and occupational therapy, contributing to the residents accepting these facilities as their true home. The television in the secure department should only be turned on if a resident wishes to watch it, or if residents are watching it in the presence of and with the appropriate assistance or explanation of employees. Sitting residents down in front of the TV so as to distract them or because no other activities are available is not appropriate. It was further recommended that residents are offered a daily newspaper (in agreement with the residents) allowing them to learn about daily news from across the globe (alone or with the help of the staff), and more importantly from their local community which they perhaps still remember. The NPM recommended that they study the possibility of visits by therapy dogs or other animals, as residents obviously respond well to contact with animals. The retirement home should also try to attract appropriate volunteers for socialising and other activities in the secure department, as this would make the lives of residents more versatile and interesting. The NPM recommended that the retirement home pay attention to the timely submission of the proposal to the court to issue a detaining order and for prolonging detention in accordance with the provisions of the ZDZdr. Idrija Retirement Home Complaints and compliments box On 23 October 2017, we visited Horjul Retirement Home. This was the first visit to this social care institution in the context of implementing the duties and powers of the NPM. During the visit, 20 recommendations were made, of which 11 have already been accepted and implemented. The retirement home has accepted but not yet implemented five recommendations, and two recommendations were rejected. We are still waiting for an answer from the Ministry as we have not yet received its response to two of the recommendations relating to the Ministry’s work (including the lengthy decision-making process on the verification of a secure department). In addition to the recommendations provided below, the NPM further recommended that the retirement home consider rearranging furniture in the common area if this would provide residents with more room for moving around, and in the future even consider expanding the common area. It should also consider expanding the hedge in the direction towards the cemetery and thus at least partially limiting the view of the headstones. It is possible that some of the residents might feel uneasy due to the vicinity of the cemetery, while their medical condition could prevent them from (correctly) interpreting this. The NPM also recommended that the retirement home strive for the rooms of residents, as well as the common areas, to be aesthetically equipped and furnished with the help of relatives and occupational therapy, contributing to residents accepting these facilities as their true home. Greater care should be paid to handling the shortcomings in rooms and in the secure department in general, as this increases the comfort of living. They should especially make sure to immediately eliminate deficiencies which could be dangerous to residents. It was recommended that they pay attention to regular cleaning of toilets and appropriate airing of these facilities and the rooms of residents. This does not only prevent unpleasant smells but also improves the living atmosphere of the residents. It was recommended that a more appropriate solution for storing cleaning agents and aids be found, and that the bathroom be transformed into a place where residents feel pleasant and comfortable. The television should only be turned on if the residents are actually watching a show or if this is explicitly requested by a resident. Before a resident signs the statement on accepting responsibility for non-compliance with a diet, the retirement home should check (e.g. with the help of an expert – psychiatrist) if the resident is even able to understand the importance of their signature and the consequences arising from non-compliance with a diet. It was further recommended that prior to such a signature being given by a third party, the retirement home should establish an potential conflict of interests with the resident, and request an appropriate consultation on the eventual detrimental effects with the resident’s physician or ask the competent social work centre to appoint a special guardian. It was further recommended that the 42 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE NPM IN 2017 NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM UNDER THE OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO THE UN CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT