Report of the Commissioner for Human Rights on the activities of the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture in Poland in 2017 CCTV monitoring in psychiatric hospitals The legality of the use of CCTV monitoring for the safety of hospital patients can be ensured by the existence of a legal basis for it in a parliamentary act. The Commissioner for Human Rights submitted a general intervention to the Minister of Health with regard to the need to regulate in relevant legislation the issue of the use of CCTV monitoring in psychiatric hospitals. The Minister of Health agreed with the arguments presented by the CHR and announced that appropriate regulations would be introduced to the Act on Mental Health Protection. Unfortunately, the announced solution has not yet been implemented. According to the letter of 22 May 2017 of the Undersecretary of State from the Ministry of Health, replying to the report on the NMPT activities in 2016, the issue of legislation on CCTV monitoring in hospitals, used for purposes other than patient health condition monitoring (e.g. CCTV monitoring used in patient isolation rooms) is beyond the scope of competences of the Minister of Health112. Undoubtedly, the act amending the Act on Mental Health Protection and certain other Acts should be positively evaluated in the part in which it provides for the obligation to install CCTV monitoring in rooms assigned to the use of direct coercion in the form of patient’s isolation. However, there are no adequate regulations, at the parliamentary act level, on single-patient rooms where direct coercion is used in the form of restraining patients with mental disorders, and on patient observation rooms and hospital wards with increased security regime. Apart from the above arguments relating to the need for appropriate legislation, the issue of individuals’ monitoring with the use of CCTV equipment is of fundamental importance from the point of view of human rights. Particular attention should be paid to patients of psychiatric hospitals, as their placement in such institutions is also connected with an increased risk of social exclusion, as compared to other social groups. There is no doubt that the failure to ensure proper protection of the rights of such patients and of their personal data and images may lead to the risk of misuse of such information. The NMPT shall continue to seek the adoption of regulations, on the parliamentary act level, to provide a basis for the use of CCTV monitoring in psychiatric hospitals. 112 ref. no. IK:1265525.DL(2) 61