during admission into the station). NPM expert stated that medical reports are loose and not numbered pieces of paper. Patients’ identification data often did not contain PESEL; the hour of examination was not recorded, the medical description usually contained one phrase ‘respiratory and circulatory efficient’, while the most frequent medical recommendation was ‘A ban to drink alcohol’, rarely a note about the need to undertake a detoxification treatment. The medical expert recommended to tide up the medicine cabinet, to replace expired products and to supplement the resuscitation equipment with a defibrillator. The station at Gliwice was also recommended to furnish their medicine cabinet with non-expired products. According to information provided by the head of that station, the recommendation had already been fulfilled. The Mayor of Chełm, making reference to recommendations, informed that in the sobering-up station a physician was designated to check the status and completness of products in the medicine cabinet and explained that a defibrillator would be purchased from the bugdet allocation for the following year. Moreover, the staff was obligated to keep reliable and legible records. The sobering-up stations at Rzeszów and Chełm do not employ a psychologist. According to rules and regulations of those stations, a talk about harmfulness of alcohol and possibilities to start a detoxification treatment with persons who leave the station is escorted by either physician, surgeon or the head of the shift. According to representatives of the Ombudsman, many activities related to the release of the patient may cause that these talks are either omitted or hold in an unreliable way (in haste). Therefore it was recommended to undertake co-operation with a psychologist or a therapeutist with good knowledge about treatment of addictions. That person would be able to focus on prevention/motivation talks with patients. Following the issuing of such recommendation, the Mayor of Rzeszów obligated the station’s Director to start co-operation with Centrum Profilaktyki i Terapii Uzależnień (Centre for Prevention and Treatment of Addictions) to motivate patients of the station to start treatment. f) Respect of intimacy and privacy The Ordinance by the Minister of Health of 4 February 2004 on the methods of escorting, admitting and releasing intoxicated individuals and on the organisation of sobering-up stations or other similar stablishments created by a local government unit (Dz. U. of 2004, No. 20, item 192 as amended) § 24 (5). Activities related to admission of women into the sobering-up station or into the centre as well as direct care of them during their stay may be performed only by female personnel of the station or of the centre, except for medical care. At the sobering station in Szczecin the National Preventive Mechanism recommended to change location of cameras in toilets for women and men in such way that intimate parts of a person who alleviate his/her physiological needs are not visible in pictures transmitted by the camera. The station’s Director explained that, following the visit, the angle of shooting was changed and it became impossible to watch people who use the toilet.