the national board of institutional care Premises used for the purposes of segregation and separate care In several cases, OPCAT inspections of special residential homes for substance abusers have highlighted the lack of premises for carrying out separate care. At the dialogue meeting in October 2019, the National Board of Institutional Care’s management stated that it was only the special residential homes for substance abusers Fortunagården and Rällsögården which lacked special areas for separate care. According to the National Board of Institutional Care’s management, there is strong support for the view that some young persons who have difficulties being in a large group could be cared for together with other young people in a smaller group. This would probably result in fewer decisions on segregation and separate care. The National Board of Institutional Care is running a pilot project at the special residential home for young people Brättegården with a unit containing fewer places intended for young people who belong to group 1 in the Support and Service for Persons with Certain Functional Impairments Act (1993:387) (i.e. individuals with intellectual disabilities, autism or autism-like conditions). Monitoring and access to staff The Parliamentary Ombudsman has criticised the National Board of Institutional Care in a case concerning an individual who died whilst in care at the special residential home for substance abusers Rällsögården. The staff on duty at the time lacked the competence to carry out their monitoring tasks as they were not aware of the routine developed by the National Board of Institutional Care for how monitoring is to be carried out for cases of individuals suspected of being under the influence of drugs.38 Another case concerned a young individual who took her own life whilst receiving separate care at a special residential home for young people. The Parliamentary Ombudsman pointed out that there is reason for the National Board of Institutional Care to consider whether it should prepare central guidelines that more clearly state how separate care should be carried out and supervision exercised.39 At the dialogue meeting in October 2019, the National Board of Institutional Care’s management stated that it has guidelines for issues related to suicide prevention and monitoring. According to the National Board of Institutional Care’s decision on compulsory training for its employees, care staff must receive basic training in suicide prevention within their first three months of employment. Periodic or constant monitoring must be carried out by staff with specialist knowledge. In the event of individuals under the influence of drugs, there are guidelines for psychological or somatic supervision within the substance abuse care homes. 38 See the Parliamentary Ombudsmen 2019/20 p. 555. 39 See the Parliamentary Ombudsmen 2019/20 p. 502. 65