Social care experts tackle issue of restraint
17 December
2007
A group of social care providers, commissioners and government
officials met with CSCI last week to discuss how to maintain
people's dignity when using restraint.
Restraint, while often intended to keep people safe, can
compromise their rights to take risks and their freedom.
This issue and others discussed at the meeting are explored in
our new report, called Rights, risks and
restraints, published today.
The report says that clear guidelines and well-resourced
services are needed to ensure dignity of care for people who use
services.
Restraint dilemmas
It looks at the issues and dilemmas around restraint,
particularly the tensions between respecting people’s rights to
freedom and to make choices, while at the same time ensuring
people’s safety.
Although there is policy and legislation to respect people’s
human rights, our report suggests that in practice care workers
have been left largely unsupported to deal with
these tensions.
Dame Denise Platt, our chair, said: “Our paper highlights some
examples of poor practice that are clearly not acceptable. Wherever
we find these, we will not hesitate to deal with them.
“Our paper also argues that people should be able to make
choices about their lives and to take risks, whether they are in
their own homes or in a care home.
"While they should also be able to expect that the care they
receive will support their dignity, some people have told us they
have found security in some types of restraint."
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