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child contact at the research site, a specialist forensic service for men and women; 2. Tounderstand the experiences of parents on short and long-term medium secure and forensicrehabilitation wards. Methods: 1. Analysis of patient records to establish the number andcharacteristics of parents in medium security and extent of contact, frequency analyses to exploredistribution of cases, univariate analyses using chi-square or rank sum tests; 2. Individualinterviews with a purposively sampled group of 18 parents (10 men, 8 women) from short andlong-term medium secure and rehabilitative wards. Findings: The number of recorded parentsand child contacts were noted as well as differences in the level of contact between differentfamily members. The qualitative data noted five themes: impact of mental illness, positiveexperiences, support from staff, parent talk, and perceptions of detention. These will be detailedin the presentation. Conclusions will then be drawn on the quality of life experienced by parentsin secure settings.Carers' Quality of Life in Forensic Mental Health ContextCatherine Kinane, Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust, Maidstone, UK(catherine.kinane@kmpt.nhs.uk)Douglas MacInnes, Canterbury Christ Church University (douglas.macinnes@canterbury.ac.uk)Janet Parrott, NHS Oxleas Foundation Trust, Dartford, UK (janet.parrott@oxleas.nhs.uk)Families are the main caring resource for service users with severe mental health problems.Although carers of people using forensic mental health services have higher levels of stress,there is only a limited amount of work on the needs of this group of carers. It is crucial torecognise the impact an admission to a forensic mental health unit has on the carer’s quality oflife. This study examined the carers’ views of services aiming toward an understanding of theexperiences of carers of patients in a forensic mental health inpatient setting. A mixed methodsapproach was used with 63 carers interviewed by telephone using a semi-structured interviewschedule to gain information from the respondents. The data was analysed by separate membersof the team qualitatively and quantitatively. The results suggest most carers were pleased withthe service provided although some negative views were expressed. The most important needidentified by this group of carers was to provide regular and appropriate information. Theimplications of the findings will be discussed.A Research Approach in a Pilot Trial to Assess the Effect of a StructuredCommunication Approach on Quality of Life in Secure Mental Health SettingsJoanna Krotofil, Canterbury Christ Church University (Joanna.krotofil@kmpt.nhs.uk)Catherine Kinane, NHS Kent Forensic Mental Health Service, Maidstone, UK(catherine.kinane@kmpt.nhs.uk)Tom Craig, King's College London (thomas.craig@kcl.ac.uk)334