VISITS TO SPECIAL SOCIAL CARE INSTITUTIONS long response times and adopt measures to improve the situation. We were still waiting for the response from the Home when drafting the NPM Annual Report. On 27 December 2018, we made a control visit to Danica Vogrinec Retirement Home. When drafting the 2018 NPM Annual Report, the report on this visit was still being prepared. 3.2 VISITS TO SPECIAL SOCIAL CARE INSTITUTIONS In 2018, we visited four special social care institutions, i.e. Dom Lukavci Special Social Care Institution, Hrastovec Social Care Institution, Dom Nina Pokorn–Grmovje Special Social Care Institution and Dom na Krasu Dutovlje Special Social Care Institution. We visited all institutions within the framework of a thematic visit where we tried to determine whether secure wards were still overcrowded due to the accommodation ordered by the courts, what was the current situation, what problems were experienced by the institutions because of overcrowding and what solutions they proposed. During the visits, we also reviewed the number of persons on secure wards with dementia as their main diagnosis, their treatment and possible activities adjusted to them. We placed special attention on determining possible incompatibility of these residents with other residents on secure wards. All visits taking two days were unannounced. On the basis of its findings, the NPM gave two systemic recommendations for all four special social care institutions. The recommendations referred to living conditions and the discussion of residents or forms of work. The two recommendations based on the findings were particularly addressed to the competent ministry. We had already received responses on the preliminary reports from the institutions visited. The institutions agreed with our findings; certain reservations about the general recommendation referring to necessary supervision of the staff’s attitude towards the residents were expressed only by Dom Nina Pokorn–Grmovje Special Social Care Institution. Relating to the general recommendation about the staff’s training to work with dementia patients, Dom na Krasu Dutovlje Special Social Care Institution explained that such training had already been implemented; thus, the NPM recommendation was realised. When drafting the NPM Annual Report, we were still waiting responses from the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities about systemic and general recommendations. Based on the visits conducted in 2018, it was determined that the situation regarding overcrowding in special social care institutions was not much better than in 2017, furthermore, in certain cases it was even worse than a year and a half ago (we did not visit Dom Prizma Ponikve Special Social Care Institution because we did not receive information that a secure ward had been opened in this institution). Particularly worrisome are cautions that secure wards in all visited institutions had been overcrowded in the last year and a half to the extent where we could hardly speak (despite great efforts of individual institutions) of suitable living conditions of residents accommodated beyond capacities. It is not insignificant that overcrowding worsens the living conditions of other residents and the workload of staff is too great as well. All of the above shows that despite the order of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia given to the competent ministry (MDDSZ) to open a new secure ward, or the order to the Working Group for the establishment of a specialised unit for discussing persons with profound mental disorders to prepare staffing and spatial standards and regulations for new specialised discussion of persons with profound mental disorders, neither of the orders given were completed a year later. Therefore, the NPM submitted to the Government of the Republic of Slovenia a systemic recommendation to examine possible reservations preventing the realisation of the instruction relating to short-term solutions for overcrowding in secure wards of special social care institutions submitted to the MDDSZ and the Ministry of Finance on 21 March 2018 six months later. We were informed of the plans for opening new facilities (the construction of a secure ward intended primarily for persons with dementia at Nina Pokorn Home in Grmovje and preparations to reconstruct C ward at Dom Lukavci), which will be partial (at least temporary) solutions for the said institutions. Nevertheless, this will (probably) not solve all problems with constant overcrowding at Dom na Krasu. We must also be aware that this is not a long-term solution of the addressed problem of overcrowding in secure wards of special social care institutions. During these thematic visits, we dedicated special attention to the number of younger and older dementia patients on secure wards of special social care institutions, their discussion, activities adjusted to them and their compatibility with residents with other mental disorders. We noted that the number of residents 36 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