The title of their presentation ‘Restrictive Practice: De-mystifying the Principles to Support Implementation’ was based on how it is imperative for us all to understand what restrictive practice is in order for us to be able to reduce it. The presentation was based on research and evidence from questionnaires that were completed randomly across the organisation. These evidenced that only between 39% and 59% of all staff surveyed understood what is meant by the term ‘restrictive practice’.
It became apparent that with all the guidance, policy, lobbying, etc. about reducing these practices, it would be nigh on impossible for staff to reduce something that they do not fully understand. Evidence was then presented about the initiatives that have subsequently been rolled out at selected Cygnet hospitals and how they had resulted in a positive impact on staff understanding and subsequently in reducing restrictive practice. Rosalyn and Abu also shared how the key learning points from these initiatives are being used to help formulate a group wide reducing restrictive practice strategy.
The presentation was well received by many and got positive feedback from prominent individuals in the field of violence reduction including Brodie Paterson, the chair of the European Network for Training in the Prevention and Safe Management of Aggression (ENTMA) and the Clinical Director of CALM training, who described it as “an excellent application of theory to practice”.
Rosalyn and Abu look forward to sharing more of the good work being done within Cygnet whilst continuing to learn from others to further enhance practice in the reduction of restrictive interventions.