16 representatives from four prisons of Romania representing medical and non-medical personnel successfully completed a training of trainers on managing prisoners with mental health on 17-19 October 2023 in Bucharest, Romania.  The aim of the training was to equip multidisciplinary teams with the necessary knowledge and skills to implement a protocol developed prior to the training and to prepare them for passing the knowledge on to their peers.

In the course of the 3-day training the participants had a possibility to learn more and reflect on the importance of multidisciplinary teams, outpatient care and treatment, vulnerable groups, de-escalation of agitated patients and personal safety. Specific cases of challenging behaviour were also discussed and analysed.

As a follow up in the coming months, the trainees will share the knowledge and information gained as a result of this training with their colleagues.

The training of trainers was  held within the framework of the Council of Europe cooperation project ”Strengthening the provision of health care and mental health care in prisons in Romania” which aims to assist the Romanian authorities in their efforts to improve health care provided to prisoners as well as psychiatric care in line with the Council of Europe standards and the European Court of Human Rights case-law.