1.1 Visits to social care institutions (residential homes for the elderly) Personnel In all the homes, except in the Trebnje Home for the Elderly (where during our visit the human resources were not fully in line with social norms), we received an explanation regarding the staff at the secure ward and/or high-level supervision ward that the staff are in line with the valid norms, both from the social as well as from the health-care aspect. Most of the retirement homes expressed the need for more staff. Those currently residing in homes need a higher degree of care and more medical attention than they had in the past. The opinion of the Olmo Home was that they could manage to provide high-quality services with the current staff, but on the other hand NPM discovered that the staff at this particular home was extremely burdened (overburdened), which is why the NPM wonders how much time they can actually devote to the residents and what is the quality of care provided to the residents. The NPM suggested that the management of this home try to find appropriate solutions for this problem. The homes assured that employees are engaged in constant profession-specific continued education and training, including the specific topic of working with people suffering from dementia, which was commended by the NPM. One of the homes especially emphasized the lack of supervision for workers in social care institutions. Special protection and safety for the residents of secure wards and high-level supervision wards is provided by the constant presence of the staff, at least during the day. The NPM is of the opinion that staff presence is lacking at night. In view of the valid staffing norms, in the homes we visited (except in Jesenice RH), only two employees were on call at night, namely a caregiver and a medical technician, wherefore it is not as a rule guaranteed that an employee will always be present at the secure or high-level supervision ward, raising the question of the suitability of supervision at secure wards during the night. Homes are attempting to eliminate this deficiency in various ways: e.g. at Ptuj RH, a caregiver continuously rotates between the high-level supervision wards, while in the Hmelina Home at night the two employees are stationed at each high-level supervision ward respectively, conducting rounds at other wards and responding to residents’ calls in these wards. As a rule there are at least regular rounds made through the secure wards or highlevel supervision wards, usually once per hour, but sometimes less frequently. When visiting the Bor HE, the NPM suggested that the home, which has started the process of verifying its secure ward and is looking for a suitable location for it, also attempt to provide space for a night shift at the secure ward (as the nurse’s room for the night shift is in a different ward, making it impossible to monitor events at the secure ward) and thus provide permanent presence of staff in this ward. Some homes already provide permanent presence of at least one employee at the secure ward at night (e.g. Ptuj RH and Škofja Loka Centre). We also proposed this to the Trnovo CE, where the nurse’s room during the night shift is located in a different ward, where it is impossible to monitor the developments in the secure ward. In its response, the Trnovo CE stated that given the current staffing norms it does not see the possibility of providing permanent staff present at the secure ward at night. It did however undertake to study the possibility of implementing video surveillance in common areas, as well as to continue conducting night rounds at the secure ward as it has so far. Also at the Trebnje HE, where only regular night rounds are conducted at the secure ward, NPM recommended that it study whether it would be sensible to install cameras in the halls and in the common areas at the secure ward at night. In its reply, the retirement home expressed its doubts that installing cameras in the secure wards would be sensible, as the two workers on the night shift, due to regular rounds throughout the facility, spend only a small amount of time in the staff room, where they would be able to monitor the security cameras. The home reported that as a result it is currently considering other technical possibilities which detect motion via sensors on residents’ beds or on door frames, which then send a message on such movement to a pager or mobile phone. The hall and multipurpose room in the secure ward of the Olmo Home are under video surveillance, but the footage is only seen at the main unit in Ptuj. Accordingly, the NPM recommended that it study whether or not it would make sense to install surveillance so that the staff at the Olmo Home, which only makes regular rounds at the secure ward, would be able to monitor more efficiently what is happening at the ward they are responsible for. The home replied that it would study the recommendation, though it thinks that supervision is sufficient for now given its hourly rounds and motion sensors, which activate a light in the hall immediately when a resident leaves their room at night, and this light can be seen by the employee which is usually in the nurse’s room across from the secure ward. The Jesenice RH assures the presence of one extra employee at night than they are entitled to given the norms. This ensures that there is at least one employee in the nurse’s room, making sure someone responds to the call system. The other two employees can thus make their rounds about the home, ensuring that residents can receive assistance when they need it. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE NPM IN 2013 NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM UNDER THE OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO THE UN CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT 37