fundamental and human rights �.� national preventive mechanism against torture The nursing service unit did not have a dedicated physiotherapist or physiotherapy nurse. One practical nurse was responsible for the rehabilitation of the residents, which was not equivalent to the services of a physiotherapist according to the nurse employed by the nursing home. Neither did the elderly residents purchase any physiotherapy services, so their physical exercise was largely dependent on the rehabilitative work practices of the nurses. Taking the unit’s large number of residents into account, the Deputy-Ombudsman considers it important to have a professional physiotherapist in charge of maintaining the residents’ ability to function (3367/2018). The report of the city that purchased the nursing services states that the nursing home has rehabilitation-oriented nurses who instruct the other nurses in rehabilitation and actively take part in the rehabilitation of the residents. Residents have the opportunity to purchase additional services at their own expense, including physiotherapy services. 3.5.15 RESIDENTIAL UNITS FOR PERSONS WITH INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES A goal set in the 2012 Government Resolution on the independent living and services for persons with intellectual disabilities is that no disabled person will be living in an institution after 2020. The Finnish Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities reports that the client volumes of housing with round-the-clock support, or assisted housing services, and supported housing services in particular have been growing. Correspondingly, the number of long-term residents in institutions for the intellectually disabled has decreased. Even though the trend is positive, it appears that giving up institutional housing by the deadline will not be successful. According to information from various sources, there are slightly less than 1,000 intensified support units for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Finland, and approximately 400 of these are run by private service providers. There are 26 institutional care units, of which 11 are run 110 by private service providers. The majority of these units employ restrictive measures. On visits to units providing institutional care and housing services for persons with disabilities, special attention is paid to the use of restrictive measures and the relevant documentation, decision-making, and appeals procedures under the provisions of the Act on Special Care for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities, which entered into force on 10 June 2016. According to the preliminary work on the Act, the restrictions must be highly exceptional and used only as a measure of last resort. If persons in special care repeatedly requires restrictive measures, it should be assessed whether the unit they are currently residing in is suitable and appropriate for their needs. The practices of the unit should always be assessed as a whole. Restrictive measures should only be resorted to when this is necessary in order to protect another basic right that takes precedence over the basic right subject to restriction. It follows from this principle that restrictive measures should never be used for disciplinary or educational purposes. The purpose of the visits is to assess the use of restrictive measures, as well as the living conditions and the accessibility and feasibility of the facilities, while appraising the attainment of the disabled residents’ right to self-determination and opportunities for participation, along with the availability of adequate care and treatment. With the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (10 June 2016), the Parliamentary Ombudsman became part of the mechanism referred to in Article 33(2) of the Convention designated to promote, protect and monitor the implementation of the rights of persons with disabilities. This special duty of the Ombudsman, as well as observations on accessibility, are discussed in more detail in section 3.4. The number of residential units of intellectually and physically disabled persons visited in 2018 was 12. Two of the units were full-time residential units for disabled persons. One of these was intended for persons with significant functional limitations due to substance addiction and/or mental health disorders, social problems and impaired cognitive abilities. The other was for people under that age of 65 with physical and/or mental