VISITS TO SOCIAL CARE INSTITUTIONS danger of a possible unintentional fire. During the night, one staff member always stays on the dementia ward; also, during the rounds one staff member remains on this ward. When prescribing occasional medications, we determined that the records always stated the frequency of taking medications, the maximum number of medications a day, and also on what occasions they are prescribed in the case of psychotropic medications (when agitated, in pain). The treatment with medications is thus regulated accordingly. During the visit, we obtained a very good impression about the staff since they have a positive outlook and perform their work properly. On 15 March 2018, we visited Lendava Retirement Home. This was a regular visit to the retirement home where we gave ten recommendations. After receiving their response, we noted that the Home agreed with most of the recommendations, but it had not realised them yet. Some of these recommendations were related to seeking solutions to prevent exceeding capacities of the secure ward, the active work on relations between the staff and residents, the observance of provisions of the ZDZdr on the legal basis for accommodating residents on a secure ward, enabling residents with limited mobility to sit in wheelchairs (while observing that blockage of a wheelchair and simultaneous placement of a pelvic belt or similar restriction may denote a special protection measure) and regular checking of collection boxes for complaints, commendations and proposals. The Home succeeded in realising two recommendations relating to the drafting of forms for special protection measures and the introduction of a suitable record of complaints. When visiting Lendava Retirement Home, we submitted two systemic recommendations addressed to the MDDSZ. We suggested that the Ministry examine whether rooms with four beds, particularly with extra beds, are compliant with the standards of social care services in institutional care of the elderly and with which standards. We were able to discern from the reply that the Ministry had submitted a guideline to retirement homes that four-bed rooms must be eliminated and a living standard must be harmonised by 2021. Multi-bed rooms are permitted conditionally in the case of nursing rooms or the so-called oases. As per the above, we considered the recommendation realised. We recommended to the MDDSZ to ensure that representatives are introduced accordingly to the residents of retirement homes with mental disorders and also to their relatives or guardians. The representatives should be equipped with brochures and posters so that information about them is available to the residents and their relatives at all times. With regard to recommendations referring to mental health representatives, the Ministry explained that letters with information on representatives and information on the promotional leaflet available on the Ministry’s website would be sent to retirement homes. We found that the Ministry’s reply was not fully compliant with the given recommendation. When visiting, we noticed several examples of living conditions and conduct which were commendable. For example, decorated rooms and corridors, and a suitable collection box for complaints, commendations and proposals, next to which several sheets of paper and a pen were attached on a string. About onethird of residents in the Home are of Hungarian nationality, and a higher percentage of them also speak Hungarian. The management explained that they cooperate with the representatives of the minority and organise events where only Hungarian is spoken; otherwise, the events are bilingual. On the notice board on the ward, we noticed individual documents in Hungarian. More than half of the staff speak Hungarian, and almost everyone understands it. The management makes sure that at least one staff member in a shift speaks Hungarian. We particularly commended the Home‘s efforts to suitably discuss members of the minority and the attention paid to bilingualism. On 28 March 2018, we visited Škofljica Retirement Home. This was a first visit to the relevant social care institution while implementing duties of the NPM, at which 14 recommendations were made. Following receipt of the response to the preliminary report, we noted that nine recommendations had been accepted, of which one had been realised and eight were still pending. The management did not respond to three recommendations and it rejected two of them. The NPM is of the opinion that the Home prepared a commendable Internal Programme for Prevention and Management of Hospitalacquired Infections in Škofljica Retirement Home with detailed, expert, organisational and technical solutions for preventing and managing hospital-acquired infections, and we thus proposed to them to also publish certain clarifications aimed at residents and their relatives or visitors on a notice board on the secure ward. The management replied that the instructions were issued only in the case of infections and that they did not wish to upset the residents and their relatives when this was not necessary. We understood that the management failed to accept the NPM recommendation. We acknowledged their clarification, but we believed that an explanation about possible infections with bacteria resistant to antibiotics would be useful to contribute to the prevention of spreading such infections, which may be unpleasant for the elderly if not dangerous, and that this aspect had an advantage over possible upsetting effects. We also proposed that residents and their relatives (be further) encouraged to bring their personal belongings and arrange rooms according to their liking, to additionally decorate corridors and common areas of the secure ward and equip doors of individual rooms with photos of residents’ 32 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE NPM IN 2018 NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM UNDER THE OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO THE UN CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT