Section Two The second year – an overview The NPM is grateful to several experts who participated in our workshop, including Dr Clive Meux, the Mental Disability Advocacy Centre and the Prison Reform Trust. In particular, the NPM appreciated the opportunity to hear a service-user perspective on detention from a board member of the Care Quality Commission. The members found the workshop to be informative and helpful and valued the opportunity to share their experiences. A second thematic workshop, focusing on restraint and the use of force, is planned for 2011–12. Also in 2010–11, a subgroup of NPM members, made up of those who visit places where people are detained under mental health law, met to share information about their work and examine recurring themes. Hosted by the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland, the meeting was attended by the Care Quality Commission (England), Healthcare Inspectorate Wales and the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (Northern Ireland). While mental health and incapacity legislation varies between the jurisdictions in the UK, as do the mandates of each of the four organisations, they were nonetheless able to identify common issues and key themes across the UK. Each of the organisations has a strong basis in human rights and a focus on the experience of individual patients. Key themes included the need for authorities to do more to involve patients with mental disorders and keep them informed, particularly about their legal rights; the need to address the physical health of those detained under mental health law; and the need for further training for professionals on issues relating to consent and capacity. The four organisations agreed to meet annually to share information and good practice and to consider whether they can work on common priorities on which they might report on a UK-wide basis. External relations In our first annual report, we noted that we had focused on raising awareness of OPCAT among the NPM members themselves. This work continued in our second year and remains ongoing. For example, as part of a human rights training event for the Independent Monitoring Boards in Northern Ireland, the NPM coordinator made a presentation on OPCAT, the role of NPMs and the implications for the work of board members. The NPM has also recognised the need to raise awareness among our stakeholders. While the 18 members are well known for their monitoring work as individual organisations, we believe there is a need to raise awareness of OPCAT and the NPM as a whole. With that in mind, we held our first stakeholder seminar in Northern Ireland in early 2011. Hosted by the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority, this seminar was solely for the NPM members operating in Northern Ireland – of which there are five4 – and stakeholders, such as the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, the Prisoner Ombudsman and the Committee for the Administration of Justice. As well as raising awareness of the NPM members and their role in detention monitoring, participants heard about the international context in which they operate courtesy of the Association for the Prevention of Torture. They discussed how NPM members could work together and how they could engage with other organisations whose activities impact directly on detention. The NPM will consider whether this event could be replicated in the other jurisdictions in the UK. 4 Independent Monitoring Boards (Northern Ireland), Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland, Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority, Northern Ireland Policing Board Independent Custody Visiting Scheme and HM Inspectorate of Prisons. 13