Report of the Commissioner for Human Rights on the activities of the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture in Poland in 2017 Unfortunately, the visits carried out in 2017 showed that the number of places available in psychiatric hospitals was too low, just like in the previous years. The NMPT still finds cases in which patients’ beds are placed in corridors within psychiatric wards, or in which additional beds are placed in patient rooms in the wards, which results in overcrowding and makes it impossible to access the beds from three sides. The information gathered by the visiting teams shows that such practices are still found in many psychiatric hospitals. The NMPT: placement of patients’ beds in psychiatric ward hallways or corridors clearly violates the patients’ right to privacy. Such violation also takes place when too many patients are placed in a hospital room, which negatively impacts the treatment process and causes tensions between patients. The NMPT: patients subject to preventive measures are sometimes hospitalized in such conditions for several years Creation of an environment positively contributing to the therapeutic process requires, primarily, the provision of sufficient living space for patients (...). Special attention should be paid to the design of patient rooms and recreation space, which should ensure appropriate visual stimulation. In patient rooms, next to the beds there should be bed tables or cabinets, where patients should be allowed to have certain personal items (photographs, books, etc.). It is also important for patients to have access to a place where their belongings would be stored in a locked space - the lack of such a place may negatively impact patients’ sense of security and autonomy (CPT)111. 111 See: CPT /Inf/E (2002) 1 -Rev. 2011 60