Purpose: To reduce the use of mechanical restraints, Safewards was introduced to a ward in a psychiatric hospital in Poland.
Design and methods: Three aspects of Safewards were applied for 8 months. The comparison time period was the same time frame of the previous year.
Findings: Restraint use dropped by 24%, and the number of patients restrained dropped 34%. The duration of restraint remained at 2.8 days per episode.
Practice implications: Simple techniques aimed at promoting positive interactions between staff and patients can reduce the frequency of restraints.
Keywords: restraints; violence.
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