- 72 4. Patients' living conditions 224. With few exceptions9, the living conditions of patients ranged from mediocre to poor, and on occasion were appalling. In this respect, it should be stressed that even though efforts are being concentrated on dehospitalisation of chronic patients (cf. paragraph 200), it is essential, from a humanitarian standpoint, for patients currently held in large psychiatric institutions to be afforded decent living conditions suited to their state of health. It should be borne in mind in this connection that by reason of their mental illness, many chronic patients will have to remain for sometime in a psychiatric hospital. Dehospitalisation and acceptable living conditions in the existing facilities are two related requirements; one should not be pursued to the detriment of the other. In particular, the staff of outside units should not be drawn from existing hospital manpower. a. accommodation 225. At the Attica State Mental Hospital, the age of the buildings visited differed, some of the older ones being very dilapidated (eg. pavilions 13, 16 and 18). However, certain pavilions, such as the "Tastsoglio" pavilion, had undergone renovation work. As for the more recent buildings, their upkeep could have been better in some cases, particularly with regard to toilet and washing facilities. According to the pavilion, accommodation ranged from shared bedrooms with 2 to 4 beds to dormitories with a capacity ranging from 5 beds up to 20 beds for the largest (eg. pavilions 2B, 16 and 18), all equipped in a rudimentary manner without bedside tables or wardrobes for patients' use. Few patients had any personal possessions. The pavilions had common rooms used for meals and in some instances for watching television. Nonetheless, the surroundings were bleak, impersonal and devoid of privacy. Despite occasional efforts by the staff to humanise the patients' living conditions, the general impression was one of deprivation. 226. At the Attica State Mental Hospital for children, patients were accommodated in units and pavilions with rooms containing 2 to 4 beds or dormitories with 4 to 6 beds. As a rule, furnishings consisted only of beds (eg. in pavilion E), sometimes with wardrobes which were either broken or empty (pavilion Z) or padlocked (pavilion C). The patients' surroundings were, on the whole, prison-like and devoid of any personal touches. Living areas had no decoration or other visual stimuli. In pavilion C, the only one (except pavilion 3) where the delegation saw toys (teddy bears), these had been nailed to the wall almost out of reach. 9 For instance, the pavilions on the Lepida and Lakki sites refurbished under the European Community programmes; the Bodosakio building (with certain reservations concerning the state of the toilet facilities) and the pavilion Tastsoglio C at the Attica State Mental hospital; pavilion 3 of the Attica State Mental hospital for children.