June 20, 2012
The World Health Organization recently released the QualityRights Tool Kit, which supports countries in their assessment and improvement of the quality and human rights of their mental health and social care facilities.
The toolkit provides countries with practical information and tools for assessing and improving quality and human rights standards in mental health and social care facilities.
It is based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and provides practical guidance on:
- the human rights and quality standards that should be respected, protected and fulfilled in both inpatient and outpatient mental health and social care facilities;
- preparing for and conducting a comprehensive assessment of facilities; and
- reporting findings and making appropriate recommendations on the basis of the assessment.
According to the WHO, the toolkit is designed for use in low-, middle- and high-income countries. It can be used by many different stakeholders, including dedicated assessment committees, nongovernmental organizations, national human rights institutions, national health or mental health commissions, health service accreditation bodies and national mechanisms established under international treaties to monitor implementation of human rights standards and others with an interest in promoting the rights of people with disabilities.
Access: http://www.who.int/mental_health/publications/QualityRights_toolkit/en/index.html