Social care centres particularly on incapacitated persons who needed the consent of their legal guardian115 or who needed to be accompanied by a personnel member116 to leave an establishment. In two visited centres117, incapacitated persons could leave only when accompanied as a result of which, given the establishments’ understaffing, residents left them very rarely in practice. However, incapacitated residents of the SCC in Białogard claimed that they can only move within the centre. Leaves from the SCC in Braniewo were allowed only together with a guardian. This regards not only incapacitated persons, but also those placed in the establishment pursuant to a court ruling. In the SCC in Ostrowiec as well, residents placed in the centre pursuant to a court ruling were allowed to leave it only when accompanied by an employee. Given the above considerations, the representatives of the Mechanism indicate that the institution of incapacitation imposes only legal limitations on an incapacitated person and leaves his/her personal liberty unimpaired. Therefore, any limitation imposed on an incapacitated person, which is not related to his/her participation in legal transactions, should be considered, in the light of the provisions in force, as unauthorised. In the opinion of the representatives of the NPM, incapacitated persons should be treated by the SCC personnel on an equal footing with other residents in every aspect of their lives unrelated to these legal limitations, particularly as regards the ability to decide on leaves from an establishment on one’s own. Also with respect to persons staying in SCCs pursuant to a court ruling, the legal framework currently in force lacks bases for imposing limitations on their leaves. The arrangements introduced in the centres visited must therefore be regarded as unduly limiting the personal liberty of residents. Given the need to ensure the safety of SCC residents, however, the representatives of the NPM recognise the need to have this problem regulated by statute. It seems right to let residents leave on their own if their cognitive abilities and health so permit. The foregoing should be confirmed by a psychiatrist’s or a psychologist’s opinion118. 2) Employees of the centre acting as legal guardians It must be noted that employees of certain visited centres119 act as legal guardians of incapacitated persons. This practice raises doubts of the representatives of the NPM, as one of the tasks of a legal guardian should be monitoring whether a charge is provided with adequate care in an establishment and whether conditions he/she is held in do not offend his/her dignity and rights. However, SCC employees may happen not to be objective in assessing the centre’s care offer and living conditions provided to residents. SCCs in: Bydgoszcz, Jaromin, Milanówek, Skwierzyna, Śrem. SCC in Psarskie, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, Primate of the Millennium, SCC in Ostrołęka, SCC in Gryfice, SCC in Szczebrzeszyn, SCC in Bystrzyca Kłodzka. 117 SCCs in: Zielona Góra and Ząbkowice Śląskie. 118 Also the Undersecretary of State of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy indicated in her letter of 30 June 2015 that leaves from an establishment may be limited only pursuant to a court decision and should be supported by a resident’s mental and physical health assessment obtained after consulting a doctor or a psychologist. 119 SCCs in: Gryfice, Śrem, Braniewo, Bielawki, Września. 115 116 49