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  • Work Package 1 "Coordination"
  • Work Package 2 "Dissemination"
  • Work Package 3 "Evaluation"
  • Work Package 4 "Human Rights and Dignity"
  • Work Package 5 "General Health Status"
• Expected Results

Work Package 4 "Human Rights and Dignity"

Objectives

To establish and disseminate across Europe a pragmatic and widely usable method for assessing good practice in human rights and dignity at both national and local level in order to improve the conditions of residents in institutions for people with mental ill health, mental disability or dependency in relation to physical health promotion, physical illness prevention, and access to health care.

Description of the work

This Work Package 4 contributes to ITHACA with the assessment and dissemination of good practice in relation to human rights and dignity of residents in institutions for people with mental ill health, mental disability or dependency in Europe. Furthermore, it will develop practical proposals for implementing across Europe best practice connected with these areas among people with mental illness/disability and dependency who are resident in health /social care institutions.

The Work Package 4 consists of the following steps:

1. Conduct a thorough literature review of relevant publications on this topic
2. Undertake an international survey of current inspection assessment schedules through participating EU and national service user groups to identify state-of-the-art and related work, e.g. inspection tools in production that have been piloted or developed in institutions, prisons and detention centres, upon which the ITHACA tool can be built
3. Make a data collection exercise from members of the Expert Advisory Group
4. Contact with relevant organisations including the Council of Europe and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT)
5. Design a data collection schedule to identify best practice in relation to human rights and dignity to be used at the national and local levels
6. Assess, through the use of inspections using a new assessment method to be organised at 15 Project Partner Sites, the condition of residents in institutions in relation to human rights and dignity conducted by staff at the local Partner Sites. Specifically we shall identify and disseminate:
• what policies are followed, where responsibility lies for the proper assessment of mental capacity of people in the institutions studied, both for adults and children
• what policies are followed, where responsibility lies for the proper provision of guardianship arrangements for people in the institutions studied
• the necessary and sufficient ingredients for good practice in terms of human rights and dignity especially related to:
• privacy and freedom from involuntary treatment
  
• rights to marry or divorce
  
• right to own, manage, bequeath and inherit property
  
• sign a legal contract
  
• right to give evidence in a court of law or in other judicial circumstances
  
• rights in relation to childcare, fostering and adoption
  
• ability to buy insurance (health, travel, life, property)
  
• rights to travel, have a passport, gain usual travel visas
  
• register and vote in elections
  
• make a valid will
  
• access financial services such as take out a loan
  
• rights to paid employment
7. Conduct focus groups with service users in each participating site organised through a member of ENUSP via their website. Full compliance with necessary local ethical approvals will be gained where appropriate.

Responsible Partner