Restraint Debriefing Forms

After all restraints we are required to do a debriefing from with the the patient. Currently our form is a 10 question two page horror that seems to only re-agitate the patients. Does anyone eles do these forms? If so are yours as cumbersome? And finaly if they are not does anyone have a form I could try and introduce to replace our current one? Thanks.

First off, if you were personally involved with placing a patient in restraints or seclusion you should not be the only one initially required to ask any direct questions to the patient with regards to this. It is little wonder that this debriefing practice would agitate any patient and frustrate you.

Although I never worked or lived in Pa., I think the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has the best debriefing policy in the country that psychiatric hospitals anywhere could use to derive a more meaningful debriefing policy of their own:

After each incident of seclusion restraints or exclusion ,[ within 24 hrs] a mental health professional and members of the treatment team [ two staff members] shall meet with the patient for the purpose of:

1. assisting the patient to develop an understanding of the precipitants which may evoke the behaviors necessitating the use of the restrictive technique.

2. assisting the patient to develop appropriate coping mechanism or alternative behavior that could be effectively utilized should similar situations/emotions/thoughts present themselves again;

3.developing and documenting a specific plan of intervention for inclusion in the Comprehensive Individualized Treatment Plan, with the intent to avert future need for restrictive techniques; and,

4.[ not for the purpose of blaming someone:uhoh21: ] evaluating whether alternate staff responses and intervention could be more effectively used in the future.

" Seclusion and Restraints are not treatment; they reflect treatment failure."

-Charles G. Curie, January 1997, Deputy Secretary Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Pa.

If you doubt the validity of the above statement please feel free to check all of my personal postings of what can go wrong when staff and administration do not work effectively in the care and treatment of the mentally ill.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Tom