BackParliamentary Ombudsman Petri Jääskeläinen ordered two public officials from his Office to make an unannounced inspection of the institutional care and accommodation units for persons with intellectual disabilities provided by the social welfare and health care services of the joint municipal authority of North Karelia.
It was discovered that cage beds were used in the institutional care and accommodation units.
The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has stated that the use of cage beds can be considered to offend human dignity and must therefore be stopped immediately.
The Ombudsman urges that the use of cage beds be discontinued and that alternative solutions be found instead.
Inspection reports 5920/2017+6670/2017 and 6311/2017 have been published online at www.oikeusasiamies.fi
Further information is provided by senior legal advisors Minna Verronen tel. +358 (0)9 432 3394 or Juha-Pekka Konttinen tel. +358 (0)9 432 3338.
Source: Parliamentary Ombudsman of Finland
