CAT/OP/HND/3 Subcommittee recommends that the national preventive mechanism hold private, individual interviews with persons being held in custody and with employees, including medical personnel, of the institution that is being visited. 24. In addition, the Subcommittee recommends that, as a general rule, members of the national preventive mechanism include questions about the health of persons who are being held in custody and about their access to a doctor or other health professional. 25. The Subcommittee recommends that the team of the national preventive mechanism tour all the facilities in the institutions that its members visit and that the team systematically examine those institutions’ records and files so that they can be cross-checked with information from other sources. If records are unavailable, then the national preventive mechanism should recommend changes in existing practices that will make it possible to check inmate records and files. 26. The Subcommittee believes that a full picture of the situation in any given place of detention can be obtained only by thoroughly inspecting the facilities, examining the institution’s records, and talking to inmates and staff. In view of the fact that CONAPREV has so few members at present, the Subcommittee believes it to be extremely important for all of its members to speak with inmates during visits. The Subcommittee recommends that all members of the national preventive mechanism speak with inmates and that they not place more priority on speaking with the authorities of places of detention than on interviewing inmates. 27. Members of the Subcommittee observed that, on occasion, some members of CONAPREV focused on specific complaints made by inmates and tried to resolve the situation. Although the attempt to resolve individual cases is praiseworthy, the Subcommittee recalls that the national preventive mechanism’s mandate differs from those of other bodies that work to combat torture, such as the Office of the National Commissioner for Human Rights, in that it focuses on prevention, on identifying causal factors and on detecting cases in which a systemic risk of torture exists. The Subcommittee recommends that the national preventive mechanism develop clear guidelines for reporting cases of torture or ill-treatment and other violations of the rights of persons who have been deprived of their liberty and for requesting, with the consent of the interviewee in question, that investigations be opened. Follow-up to visits 28. The national preventive mechanism should prepare reports on the visits it conducts.11 Its visits will be much less effective if it does not issue a report following each visit. The Subcommittee recommends that a report should be an output for every visit conducted by the national preventive mechanism. The report should focus on prevention and on identifying the problems that exist and proposing solutions in the form of recommendations. These recommendations must be well-founded, should be directed towards developing preventive measures to deal with shortcomings in systems and practices, and should be practicable.12 The Subcommittee recommends that the national preventive mechanism cover more issues in its visit reports, improve its coverage and be more thorough in this regard. It should also, in particular, bear in mind United Nations standards (including those reflected in the Subcommittee’s 11 12 GE.13-40547 CAT/OP/12/5, para. 36. CAT/OP/1, para. 20. 7