Question

compare United States vs new zealand national standard of restraint minimisation ?

Answer 1

Ans) The RANZCP is committed to achieving the aim of reducing, and where possible eliminating, the use of seclusion and restraint in a way which supports good clinical practice and provides safe and improved care for consumers.
- Seclusion and restraint are interventions and not therapies. The RANZCP acknowledges that there are situations where it is appropriate to use restraint and/or seclusion but only as a safety measure of last resort where all other interventions have been tried, or considered and excluded. Seclusion and restraint should never be used as a method of punishment but rather should aim to restore a collaborative patient–clinician relationship.
- If seclusion and/or restraint are to be used, they should only be used in line with formal policies in a safe, dignified and respectful manner as possible by appropriately trained staff.
- Prone (face down) physical restraint should only be used if it is the safest way to protect the patient or any other person. If face down restraint is used, it will be time limited. The maximum time a person will be held on the ground in face down restraint is approximately two to three minutes, the minimum amount of time necessary to administer medication and/or remove the person to a safer environment (NSW Ministry of Health, 2012).
- In the interests of consumer and staff safety, - and the delivery of quality mental health services, the RANZCP fully supports systems-oriented activities such as Trauma-Informed Care that seek to minimise harm and promote improved outcomes for individuals receiving care.
- The RANZCP endorses the principles underpinning the entry on seclusion and restraint presented in National safety priorities in mental health: a national plan for reducing harm (National Mental Health Working Group, 2005) and in the Te Pou report (O’Hagan et al., 2008), and is encouraged to see progress in terms of the identified strategies.
- The RANZCP considers that the skills and attitudes of staff involved are the most critical aspect in reducing the use of seclusion and restraint and supports the principles of training and education for health staff in effective de-escalation and debriefing techniques.
- The RANZCP also supports environmental measures to help improve the design and physical layout of mental health services, which in turn may help reduce the need for those services to utilise seclusion and/or restraint
- The RANZCP will work to promote quality and safe practice within its training and continuing medical education programs to contribute to the reduction of seclusion and restraint.
- The RANZCP supports a review of the term ‘chemical restraint’.