The purpose of the ad hoc visit was to examine the treatment of patients held in psychiatric establishments and of residents accommodated in residential care homes. To this end, the CPT’s delegation visited four civil psychiatric hospitals where it focused on the treatment of the most acute patients and of long-term chronic patients. The treatment and conditions of care for patients at the Pădureni-Grajduri Psychiatric and Safety Measures Hospital was a further focus. In addition, the delegation visited, for the first time, three different types of residential homes.

In the course of the visit, the delegation held consultations with Alexandru Rafila, Minister of Health, Cătălin Vișean, Secretary of State of Health and Cristian Vasilcoiu, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity as well as with Cătălina Constantin, Executive Director of the National Center for Mental Health and the Fight Against Drugs, George Cristian Curca, Director of the Institute of Forensic Medicine, and Mihai Tomescu, President of the National Authority for the Protection of Persons with Disabilities, and senior officials from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity.

The delegation also met Renate Weber, Ombudsperson, and members of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) within the Ombudsman’s office as well as with representatives of civil society.

At the end of the visit, the delegation presented its preliminary observations to the authorities of Romania.

The visit was carried out by the following members of the CPT:

• Vânia Costa Ramos, Head of delegation
• Marie Kmecová
• Vytautas Raškauskas
• Karin Rowhani-Wimmer
• Victor Zaharia.

They were supported by Hugh Chetwynd, Head of Division, and Dalia Žukauskienė of the CPT's Secretariat and assisted by Clive Meux, forensic psychiatrist, United Kingdom, and Jan Stuchlík, psychiatrist, Czech Republic.

The delegation visited the following establishments:

Psychiatric hospitals

• Bălăceanca Psychiatric Hospital
• Psychiatric Clinic of Emergency County Hospital "Mavromati", Botoșani
• Obregia Psychiatric Hospital, Bucharest (targeted visit)
• Socola Psychiatric Hospital, Iaşi; and
• Pădureni-Grajduri Psychiatric and Safety Measures Hospital, lași

Residential Care Homes

• Neuropsychiatric Recovery and Rehabilitation Centre in Costâna
• Neuropsychiatric Recovery and Rehabilitation Centre in Sasca Mică
• Centre for the Recovery and Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons in Păstrăveni
• Care and Assistance Centre in Mirceşti

It was the Committee's thirteenth visit to Romania.