and increased use of service users in inspections and visits under the Mental Health Act and in a broader range of inspections more generally. This will include the provision of effective training and support. Case Study: Care Quality Commission: value of service user involvement in protecting rights An inspector and an by undertook a visit to a mental health ‘expert experience’ ward. Part of the visit included looking at all aspects of the physical environment of the ward, including patient bedrooms. The inspector used an observation panel on one bedroom door to look into a bedroom, which was occupied by a patient. The by was able to point out to the ‘expert experience’ inspector that there would be less intrusive ways of looking at the bedroom areas. It was not necessary to use the observation panels in the same way as staff used them in the context of the inspection. This was brought to a team meeting and a discussion was had, led by the inspector and the by about ‘expert experience’, ways of looking at bedroom areas that reduced significantly interference with the right to respect for privacy under Article 8 of the ECHR. The involvement patient’s of the by practice that was more mindful of the ‘expert experience’ helped develop privacy rights of patients. The language of rights There are a plethora of different words some of them quite technical associated – – with human rights. This has led to some people shying away from the topic, leaving it for the lawyers. Human rights can sometimes be easier to understand when the simpler language of the central values upon which human rights treaties are founded such as dignity, respect for others, equality, fairness, non-discrimination and – personal autonomy is used. Most of these values are embedded explicitly or – implicitly in all human rights treaties. They have been affirmed in domestic and international case law, in academic debates and in civil society discourse as being at the heart of human rights protection.
and increased use of service users in inspections and visits under the Mental Health Act and in a broader range of inspections more generally. This will include the provision of effective training and support. Case Study: Care Quality Commission: value of service user involvement in protecting rights An inspector and an ‘expert by experience’ undertook a visit to a mental health ward. Part of the visit included looking at all aspects of the physical environment of the ward, including patient bedrooms. The inspector used an observation panel on one bedroom door to look into a bedroom, which was occupied by a patient. The ‘expert by experience’ was able to point out to the inspector that there would be less intrusive ways of looking at the bedroom areas. It was not necessary to use the observation panels in the same way as staff used them in the context of the inspection. This was brought to a team meeting and a discussion was had, led by the inspector and the ‘expert by experience’, about ways of looking at bedroom areas that reduced significantly interference with the patient’s right to respect for privacy under Article 8 of the ECHR. The involvement of the ‘expert by experience’ helped develop practice that was more mindful of the privacy rights of patients. The language of rights There are a plethora of different words – some of them quite technical – associated with human rights. This has led to some people shying away from the topic, leaving it for the lawyers. Human rights can sometimes be easier to understand when the simpler language of the central values upon which human rights treaties are founded – such as dignity, respect for others, equality, fairness, non-discrimination and personal autonomy – is used. Most of these values are embedded explicitly or implicitly in all human rights treaties. They have been affirmed in domestic and international case law, in academic debates and in civil society discourse as being at the heart of human rights protection.
human_rights_in_action_rio_case_studies_1.docx