fundamental and human rights �.� national preventive mechanism against torture Sufficiency of human resources The Deputy-Ombudsman drew the care home’s attention to the fact that, among other things, the Act on Intellectual Disabilities requires special care units to be staffed by a sufficient number of social and health-care professionals and other personnel, regarding the nature of the unit’s operations and the special needs of the persons in special care. The Ombudsman commended the fact that the city monitored the operations of the private housing units in its area and their fulfilment of the minimum staffing requirements (1376/2018). The unit’s staff turnover was considerable. The situation was perhaps affected by the challenging nature of the work and a shortage of employees. The NPM got the impression that the staff was in need of more supervision. A chronic personnel shortage was also described in the interviews conducted during the visit. The Ombudsman pointed out that care units must be staffed by a sufficient number of personnel with regard to their operations (1871/2018). The documentation indicated that the unit had also counted students in its staff numbers. On a general level, the Ombudsman pointed out that students are not yet social welfare or health care professionals. The employer is responsible for ensuring that restrictive measures are carried out only by personnel who have the necessary professional qualifications. Whether a student possesses the required professional competence for participating in a restrictive measure requires careful assessment. Students cannot be responsible for the use of restrictive measures, but require guidance and supervision from professionals. The Ombudsman reminded that students temporarily performing the duties of a social welfare or health care professional are subject to the regulations applied to such professionals, and can thus potentially suffer consequences for errors made in the course of their work (visit to the adult rehabilitation unit of Vaalijala joint authority, 7007/2017). The rehabilitation unit reported that only students hired by the organisation for an apprenticeship were counted in the unit’s staffing numbers. The apprenticeship trainees do not participate in the use of restrictive measures. The realisation of privacy in housing services The Ombudsman has proposed that every disabled person living in a housing service unit should have a private room equipped with sanitary facilities. From the perspective of arranging home-like accommodation and guaranteeing the protection of privacy, the NPM found it to be a shortcoming that not all of the residents had their own toilet and shower facilities in their apartment (room) (1376/2018). The unit had installed camera surveillance in the common areas, isolation area and hallways. The Ombudsman noted that camera surveillance is always an infringement on privacy and may only be used when necessary. The use of camera surveillance cannot be justified by a shortage of staff in the unit, and its necessity must be regularly evaluated against the individual needs of the residents (7007/2017). Right to self-determination and opportunities for participation The individual’s right to self-determination is one of the guiding principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. According to the Act on Intellectual Disabilities, the rights of persons in special care to participate in and influence their own affairs must safeguarded. According to the Ombudsman, children should generally be permitted to use their own telephones according to their age and level of development in the same way as children who are not in rehabilitation in a residential unit. Confiscating a child’s technical devices for an individual disciplinary reason, such as for the night, requires a specific reason related to the individual child. Such reasons could include an inability to stop using the telephone or that the telephone disturbs the child’s sleep. The Ombudsman stressed that disciplinary rules related to upbringing may not be excessively strict, and the child’s age, level of development and other individual needs and cir- 113