Mental health patients in Greater Manchester are FIVE TIMES more likely to experience physical restraint than the rest of the UK – and now health chiefs are warning restraint should only be used as a ‘last resort’.
More than 1,400 patients in Greater Manchester experienced physical restraint in 2011-12 compared to a national average of 287, according to figures released by mental health service Mind.
In addition, there were 100 incidents where police were involved in physical restraint, compared to the national average of eight, while hospital admissions were nearly double the average.
Gill Green, Director of Nursing at Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, promised that her organisation’s first priority was the care and wellbeing of their patients.
Ms Green said: “Any form of restraint should only be used as a last resort in extreme circumstances and our staff are trained to use alternatives to face-down restraint.
“The care we provide is person-centred and an important aspect of that is continuously working alongside organisations who represent our service users.”
Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of Mind, said that too many trusts had an over reliance on physical restraint in managing a crisis situation.
“Physical restraint can be humiliating, dangerous and even life-threatening and the huge variation in its use indicates that some trusts are using it too quickly,” he said.
“Face down restraint, when a person is pinned face-down on the floor, is particularly dangerous, as well as extremely frightening to the person being restrained. It has no place in modern healthcare and its use must be ended.
“We know that healthcare staff do a challenging job and sometimes need to make difficult decisions very quickly, but physical restraint should only be used as the last resort, when there’s no other way of stopping someone from doing themselves or others immediate harm.”
Picture courtesy of SonofaBike, with thanks.
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