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<\/p>\nRestrictive practices include physically restraining someone or secluding them in a room and not allowing them to leave.<\/p>\n
The report was published by the Mental Health Commission (MHC), the independent regulator of mental health services in Ireland.<\/p>\n
It shows the total of \u201crestrictive practice episodes\u201d in approved mental health centres fell significantly between 2018 and 2024.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The report published by the Mental Health Commission found restrictive practice fell by 62pc. Photo: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Today’s News in 90 Seconds – Thursday July 31<\/p>\n
Over that seven-year period, the use of physical restraint and seclusion fell by 91pc in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).<\/p>\n
The use of mechanical restraint on children \u2013 using devices or bodily garments to restrain someone \u2013 was banned by the MHC in 2023.<\/p>\n
Professor Jim Lucey, the author of the report and inspector of Mental Health Services, said: \u201cChildren are specifically protected from restrictive practices in Irish mental health care through a human rights-based approach, acknowledging their particular vulnerability to trauma and harm from restrictive interventions.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeclusion and physical restraint can have adverse implications for their emotional development. This approach, underpinned by the principles of trauma-informed care, has been further enhanced by the revised regulations.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was a \u201cprofound decline\u201d in the number of restrictive practice episodes in CAMHS over the seven-year period, from 2,608 in 2018 to 238 in 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur regulatory changes and initiatives, coupled with the commitment of leadership and staff to person-centred, therapeutic care has been instrumental in accelerating the downward trend in restrictive practice use in Ireland since 2022, and building on a significant decline observed since 2018,\u201d MHC chief executive John Farrelly said.<\/p>\n
The findings of the report have been welcomed by the MHC as a \u201cpositive result\u201d for mental health services, with evidence showing restrictive practices are \u201ccounterproductive\u201d and do not help to reduce levels of violence and aggression in approved treatment centres.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have found significant reductions in both the frequency and duration of these practices, particularly since our new regulations and our improved, near real-time reporting system came into effect,\u201d MHC director of regulation Gary Kiernan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFurthermore, the steps we have taken in conjunction with approved centres to achieve these reductions includes mandatory training, new policies, and detailed post-incident reviews, emphasising a shift towards trauma-informed and person-centred care.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have also introduced enhanced oversight and reporting, requiring services to report each episode of seclusion or restraint within three working days of its commencement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rules around the use of seclusion and mechanical restraint were revised by the MHC in 2023, in an effort to prioritise the dignity and wellbeing of service users.<\/p>\n
The review was prompted by development in international human rights, advancements in person-centred care and evidence showing the \u201charmful physical and psychological consequences of restrictive practices\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur vision extends beyond the current scope of restrictive practices. It is our hope that this human rights approach will be applied more broadly to include all areas of care,\u201d Prof Lucey added.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is our long-term goal of fostering a culture that prioritises dignity, autonomy and wellbeing across all aspects of mental healthcare, not just in the context of restrictive interventions.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Restrictive practices include physically restraining someone or secluding them in a room and not allowing them to leave.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38729,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[49,48,28119,84,393,394],"class_list":{"0":"post-38728","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-darragh-nolan","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-mental-health","13":"tag-mentalhealth"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38728\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}