The Chancellor asked both care homes to ensure that nursing care services are available at least to an extent conforming to the statutory minimum requirement. A lingering suspicion also remained that in both care homes prescription medications – which should be taken only in specific circumstances – are dispensed to residents in the evenings and at night by an activity supervisor not qualified to make such decisions. 3. Institutions providing the general care service During the reporting period, the Chancellor inspected the activities of eight general care homes (so-called old people’s homes). Residents of general care homes are adults who need support in their daily lives and are unable to cope independently at home. Young or middle-aged people may also find themselves in this situation as a result of illness or trauma, but the majority of the residents in general care homes are the elderly in need of daily support. According to data from the Ministry of Social Affairs, 11 445 clients received the general care service in 2016. The inspections in social welfare institutions focused on whether the freedom of movement of individuals had been restricted (e.g. locking them in their rooms, securing them to their beds), whether clients were treated with dignity (e.g. unjustified interference in privacy, unsanitary living conditions), and whether any risks to their life and health existed (e.g. number and presence of staff, nursing and care, meals, issues related to medication, access to healthcare). As a rule, the Chancellor carries out inspection visits to general care homes without advance notice. A healthcare expert was involved in all the visits, and general practitioners as well as medical professionals qualified in geriatrics also contributed with their specialist expertise. The inspections involved examining the rooms and documentation plus interviews with staff and residents. Similarly to the previous reporting period, the problems include ensuring decent living conditions, compliance with health protection requirements applicable for social welfare institutions, unlawful restriction of freedom of movement of clients, incorrect handling and administration of medication to clients. Some problems also occurred in relation to lack of privacy during hygiene procedures, maintaining records of the care service (absence of mandatory care plans), and regular assessment of the need for healthcare services. In some care homes, high doorsteps, narrow doorways and absence of a lift made it difficult to move around in a wheelchair or a wheeled walking frame. 8