Hospitals and psychiatric institutions Flawed discharge management Discharge management at Graz Süd-West/Standort Süd Regional Hospital also gave cause for criticism. Commission 3 observed during their visit that one long-term patient was discharged due to the authorisation of her legal guardian and was transferred to Vienna by an “authorised” person. As a matter of principle it is, however, impermissible that legally appointed guardians divest themselves of their responsibility by delegating their tasks to third parties. The discharge and transfer of this patient to Vienna was thus conducted without the legal consent for the patient, which was extremely problematic in view of an acute risk of suicide. It was evidently not examined if the authorised “escort” was legally entitled to carry out the discharge procedure. The reservations on the part of the NPM were considered insofar as authorisations made by legal guardians will be examined more closely in the future in cases where the status is unclear. XX  The number of non-residential places for taking care of persons with psychiatric diseases must continue to be increased to avoid hospital stays for which there is no medical indication. XX  The authority of persons having powers of representation must be carefully examined as part of discharge management. 60