·        Restraint Training

The use of physical restraint is a high risk intervention to be used only in circumstances to prevent significant or life threatening harm to a patient or others in situations where the use of non-physical interventions have been unsuccessful. It is the provider’s responsibility to ensure that their staff have received training as required in physical interventions and that the member of staff have been assessed as safe and competent to do so. We have had reports from the Care Quality Commission and Ruth May’s CNO BAME advisory group of staff being expected to work in areas and engage in the physical restraint of patients without the required training, this is unsafe for patients and staff. We understand the need to balance risk and specifically the requirement to reduce face to face contact due to COVID-19 however, a risk assessment should be undertaken within your areas and the necessary steps taken to provide a COVID safe environment to enable the continued training of staff.