MONITORING PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTIONS Finally, a good practice of certain NPMs is to include former users, either as full members of the mechanism’s team, or as external experts. The presence and experience of these persons facilitates contacts with the users but also with their families, and even with the staff of the visited institution. Their personal experience sheds a different light on the establishments visited and the aspects to consider during the monitoring, increases the visiting teams’ awareness and broadens the NPM’s perspective, placing it in a position to better respond to the specific needs of persons with mental disabilities deprived of liberty. United Kingdom: integrating the users’ perspective in monitoring In the United Kingdom, several institutions that are part of the NPM have a specific mandate to monitor healthcare institutions. The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland is one of them. This Commission includes the perspective of former users of mental health services. In 2015, the Commission created an “engagement and participation” department made up of three people, including a former user and a former carer. Their role is to be fully fledged members of the visiting team. During the visits, they focus on the meetings with patients and carers and are also involved in drafting reports after the visits. They also meet users’ associations regularly to introduce the Commission, consult them on issues to better inform the Commission’s work and to facilitate contacts between various groups of users in Scotland. Staff-related issues Establishing a constructive rapport with the management and staff of institutions being visited is an essential starting point for NPMs. They must therefore adopt a constructive approach, assuming that the staff and management are willing to improve the quality of the service and care. It has already been mentioned that it can be difficult for the NPMs to deal with carers who fail to understand their aim and mandate as an institution preventing torture and other ill-treatment. In some cases, 35