and included information about the individual’s age, legal status, needs and
preferences, for example whether they had any special dietary or health needs,
the date of their arrival at the unit and their review dates, and the name of their
personal officer or nurse. A good quality board also helped with staff handover
and ensured that key information about the individual was passed on.
Individualised work with prisoners / patients/ residents is taking place to
address their needs and challenges
As well as a Management Plan, prisoners at Auckland South’s Separation and
Reintegration Unit (SRU) set out their goals and plan to achieve them in the
‘Prison Support Plan’- a compact of sorts, signed by the prisoner and by staff.
At Risk unit staff at Christchurch Women’s kept a separate file on each of
the women in the unit, where all the observations, risk assessment and daily
interview notes were held. Staff in both Epuni Children and Young Persons’ Care
and Protection residence and Te Puna Wai o Tuhinapo Youth Justice residence
clearly knew the children in their care very well, and efforts were made to
get to the bottom of the events which led the child to the Secure Care Unit.
These attempts included the young person’s perspective and understanding of
their role in these events. This meant that time in the unit could be used in a
productive way rather than being an entirely wasted, or ‘dead time’. Children
placed in the Secure Care Unit at the Children and Young Persons’ Care and
Protection residence had daily management plans drawn up, which included
triggers, targets and issues. Children housed in the Secure Care Unit were also
required to complete progressive workbooks addressing the event/s which led
to their placement there, and how they might manage their own return to the
open unit, which was very good practice. Individual Behaviour Management
Plans for Young People completed daily by Secure Care Unit staff at Te Puna Wai
o Tuhinapo Youth Justice residence were also of excellent quality, and included
relevant, detailed observations and targets for young people.
Use of force and restraints is minimal, regularly reviewed, and staff are up to
date with their training
Force should only be used as little as possible, when other alternatives had been
tried and failed. Where force is used, it is crucially important for staff involved
and Management to review the incident and learn lessons for it. Arrangements
for reviewing use of force incidents in most of the facilities visited were of
reasonable quality, and of excellent quality at Mount Eden Correctional Facility.
The majority (but not all) of permanent staff in both mental health facilities and
prisons were up to date with their use of force / ‘Calm and Restraint’ training.
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