–5– 10. Use of means of restraint vis-à-vis voluntary patients In case the application of means of restraint to a voluntary patient is deemed necessary and the patient disagrees, the legal status of the patient should be reviewed. 11. Recording and reporting of instances of means of restraint 11.1. Experience has shown that detailed and accurate recording of instances of restraint can provide hospital management with an oversight of the extent of their occurrence and enable measures to be taken, where appropriate, to reduce their incidence. To this end, a specific register should be established to record all instances of recourse to means of restraint (including chemical restraint). This should supplement the records contained within the patient’s personal medical file. The entries in the register should include the time at which the measure began and ended; the circumstances of the case; the reasons for resorting to the measure; the name of the doctor who ordered or approved it; and an account of any injuries sustained by patients or staff. Patients should be entitled to attach comments to the register, and should be informed of this entitlement; at their request, they should receive a copy of the full entry. 11.2. The frequency and duration of instances of restraint should be reported on a regular basis to a supervisory authority and/or a designated outside monitoring body (e.g. health-care inspectorate). This will facilitate a national or regional overview of existing restraint practices, with a view to implementing a strategy of limiting the frequency and duration of the use of means of restraint. 12. Complaints procedures Effective complaints procedures are basic safeguards against ill-treatment in all psychiatric establishments. Psychiatric patients (as well as their family members or legal representatives) should have avenues of complaint open to them within the establishments’ administrative system and should be entitled to address complaints – on a confidential basis – to an independent outside body. Complaints procedures should be simple, effective and user-friendly, particularly regarding the language used. Patients should be entitled to seek legal advice about complaints and to benefit from free legal assistance when the interests of justice so require.