3 Visits to places of deprivation of liberty VISITS TO PLACES OF DEPRIVATION OF LIBERTY 3.1 VISITS TO SOCIAL CARE INSTITUTIONS In 2018, the NPM conducted regular visits to eight retirement homes or their units, i.e. Koper Retirement Home, Ljubljana Šiška Retirement Home, Ormož Retirement Home, Lendava Retirement Home, Škofljica Retirement Home, Ljubljana Bežigrad Retirement Home, Taber Retirement Home in Cerklje na Gorenjskem and the Podsabotin Unit of Nova Gorica Retirement Home. The NPM also made control visits to ten retirement homes. During these visits, the NPM particularly examined the observance and realisation of recommendations given at their regular visits in the past years. These included visits to Pristan Retirement Home in Vipava, Metlika Retirement Home, Gornja Radgona Retirement Home, the Kidričevo Unit of Ptuj Retirement Home, the Tolmin Unit of Podbrdo Retirement Home, Bor Retirement Home in Črni Vrh nad Idrijo, Ljutomer Retirement Home, Fužine Retirement Home and Danica Vogrinec Retirement Home in Maribor. In addition, the NPM also conducted thematic visits to six retirement homes, where fire safety of the homes visited was examined with a special emphasis on secure wards and dementia patients residing on these wards. These homes were Črnomelj Retirement Home, Novo mesto Retirement Home, Trebnje Retirement Home, Lucija Retirement Home, the Koper Unit of Ptuj Retirement Home, and Cerknica Retirement Home. The report on the thematic visit from the viewpoint of fire safety had already been submitted to the MDDSZEM and competent inspection services; however, we still await their response (start of January). We had already sent preliminary reports on the visits to Fužine Retirement Home, Ljutomer Retirement Home, and Taber Retirement Home in Cerklje na Gorenjskem, and were waiting their replies during the drafting of the NPM Annual Report. The final report on visiting Bor Retirement Home in Črni Vrh nad Idrijo and preliminary reports on visiting the Podsabotin Unit of Nova Gorica Retirement Home and Danica Vogrinec Retirement Home in Maribor were being prepared. An expert attended eight visits to retirement homes, of which a fire safety expert participated six times and a psychiatrist twice. Three visits to retirement homes were attended (as observers) by representatives of foreign national preventive mechanisms (Serbia). When visiting retirement homes, the NPM gave 163 new recommendations, and also examined 124 recommendations upon control visits, which were produced during previous visits (whereby it must be observed that two reports were still being prepared). From a total of 163 new recommendations, eight were systemic and 156 general. On 22 January 2018, the NPM visited Pristan Retirement Home in Vipava. This was a control visit where we examined the observance of recommendations forwarded during the visit in 2014. We determined that the home accepted the majority of 19 recommendations, but it had not yet implemented them. We were surprised to find that we were unable to mark as implemented the recommendations referring to residents spending time outdoors, the publication of the residents’ list of rights on a notice board, suitable arrangement of a call system (emergency button), suitable amending of individual forms (particularly the form by means of which a resident gives consent to being relocated to a secure ward, and forms relating to special protection measures). We were also surprised that the Home had not 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 29