Section two Focus on detention issues • NPM members should use their influence to maintain the national focus in their jurisdictions on improving the coordination of service planning. • NPM members should gather information and report on delayed discharges and people detained in conditions of excessive security when monitoring secure mental health services. Pathways from police custody arising from mental health issues • Forces should ensure they sufficiently evidence the numbers of detainees who have significant mental health issues and have needs which require enhanced support over and above that which can be provided in the custody suite. This data should be able to be disaggregated for equality monitoring purposes to ensure public bodies are able to effectively discharge their equality duties. • NPM members should consider paying closer attention to the destination of detainees transferred from police custody, as well as delays in pathways out. Pathways from prisons to mental health settings • Collect and publish data on transfers from prisons to mental health settings and on the return to prison in the UK, to include data on delays and at what stage in the transfer process these occur. • Review the current 14-day transfer guideline with a view to removing the obstacles to its implementation and reducing it further in future, and consider the introduction of a legal maximum time between the first medical recommendation and transfer of detainees requiring care in a secure hospital. • Consider the recommendation of the CPT that all patient transfers from prison should automatically trigger a review by the Mental Health Tribunal, or alternatively, extending the right to appeal against transfer currently in place in Scotland. Future actions for the NPM The NPM will follow up on the work conducted so far by discussing how its members can make sure they are fulfilling their role of preventing ill-treatment when detainees are moving between the types of facilities they inspect or visit. This may include: • understanding all possible pathways and identifying blockages and problems; • examining preparation for detainee pathways during inspections and visits; • identifying detainees who are stuck in inappropriate locations and reporting on the issues they face; • engaging with authorities who plan/ commission detention facilities and their distribution with a view to ensuring pathway problems are mitigated and services are organised to answer needs. The NPM also intends to discuss what elements of the existing human rights framework and international standards relating to detention should govern pathways and transitions, with a view to influencing future thinking in this area. 49