Section two The NPM in 2018-19 restraint principles to support inspectors in their scrutiny and improvement roles. This guidance is structured around the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child. CI continued to sit on the Scottish Government’s Programme Board for Health and Social Care in Prisons. The board aims to address structural barriers to improving health and social care in prisons, taking account of the transition of care in and out of prison and the role of integration joint boards and health boards in the delivery of health and social care in prisons. During 2018–19, CI appointed a new Chief Executive, Peter Macleod, who took up post in January 2019. In addition to carrying out an inspection of 17 police custody facilities across Scotland, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) also started work on a new approach for gathering data on detainees’ experiences of police custody. Inspectors noted that detainees can be reluctant to speak with inspectors during their time in police custody. To address this, and in light of concerns about the experience of women in custody in particular, HMICS approached third sector organisations who worked with women with experience of police custody and held a focus group with them. This approach has given HMICS new insights into the experience of women in custody. HMICS plans to extend this work to other groups such as children and men. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland (HMIPS) began to collaborate with Health Improvement Scotland in 2018, to assess the quality of health care during inspections of prisons and young offender institutions. HMIPS conducted four full prison inspections and made two return prison inspections, and undertook five court custody inspections in 2018–19. HMIPS reviewed and improved the standards used when inspecting court custody units. HMIPS also published a collaborative thematic review, with HMICS, on Home Detention Curfew. Independent Prison Monitors (IPMs), who are a formal part of the HMIPS structure, volunteered over 5,000 hours of their time in monitoring Scotland’s prisons on 917 occasions, dealing with more than 900 requests from prisoners. During 2018–19 IPMs had a more direct communication with and influence on the inspection work carried out by HMIPS. HMIPS also devised a new action plan to help IPMs assess the action of the Scottish Prison Service in response to inspection findings and recommendations to improve the overall monitoring of illtreatment in Scotland’s prisons. In November 2018 HMIPS was asked by the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Justice to undertake an expert review of mental health services in HMP YOI Polmont, following two self-inflicted deaths in the prison. The review was led by an external clinical expert. Although the report was not published in the reporting year, much of the review work was done during this time and highlighted the need for improved sharing of information between external agencies and the Scottish Prison Service to improve risk management when entering and leaving custody, and greater action to minimise social isolation, particularly in the first weeks of custody. In May 2018 HMIPS launched a new set of inspection standards and ‘Panel Principles’ which the Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) helped 39

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