This is an archived programme
This programme builds on the work of the Reducing Restrictive Practice Collaborative, hosted by the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health.
We will scale up and spread the reducing restrictive practice theory of change and change package, developed for the Mental Health Safety Improvement Programme by the Reducing Restrictive Practice Collaborative.
We are aiming for a 25 per cent reduction in incidence of restrictive practice in all inpatient mental health, learning disabilities and autism wards engaged in the programme by September 2023.
Restrictive practices cause both physical and psychological harm to patients and are often traumatising to an already vulnerable patient group. The use of restrictive practice can impact negatively on staff who either use restrictive interventions on patients or who witness them.
Wards with high levels of restrictive practices often have unstable staff groups heavily supported by agency staff, with difficulties recruiting and retaining staff. They can be difficult places for both patients and staff, which is counterproductive to building the trusting relationships between staff and patients that are fundamental to safe, high quality mental health care.
There is large variation in rates of restrictive practice and a marked inequality in race, diagnosis, age and sex. The CQC’s 2017 State of Care review of mental health and learning disability services observe and report this large variation in practice, and the Department of Health and Social Care’s Mental Health Units (Use of Force) Act 2018 statutory guidance reports that there is still work to do.