In the Health and Social care sector, we know that providing high-quality care is your priority. 

With guidance and standards ever-changing to reflect people’s needs, we wanted to make life a little easier for you by sharing noteworthy changes, news and updates here for you and your team to easily access.


The Restraint Reduction Network have launched surveillance resources in partnership with the British Institute of Human Rights to help protect human rights.

The resources explore why surveillance might be used across services such as care homes, hospitals, supported living facilities or people’s homes and highlights ways to uphold people’s privacy and human rights. Key ethical and legal questions are covered as well as what rights respecting surveillance looks like.


As of July 2021, the following additional appendices and wording changes to the Restraint Reduction Network Standards will be in place:

Specific considerations and adaptions to the training standards for staff who transport mental health patients who also may have learning disabilities and autism

 

For full details of the appendices visit the RRN website to review the standards

Specific considerations for non-physical skills training online

For full details of the appendices visit the RRN website to review the standards

Factors that cause elevated risk must be identified. Training providers may use their own tool that covers the required criteria in this standard.

To reflect the updates to the non-mandatory risk assessment tool to inform training ratios:

  • Training organisations must evidence that they considered all relevant risks when planning training (and the ratio of trainer to participant is adjusted accordingly)
  • The ratio should reflect the competence levels needed to be achieved by staff to apply the intervention safely in a real-life situation as well as any risks in the classroom during training.

And must include consideration of:

  • The risk assessment for each physical restraint technique being taught.
  • Training providers must be able to evidence low risk across all appropriate risk domains where one trainer is used or that a second trainer is always in place
  • Where risks are identified as higher, e.g., complexity of technique, or use of simulation). The certification process will be particularly rigorous in reviewing this
  • the training needs analysis (and that this has not identified any elevated risks to people being supported by the service or the staff)
  • a risk assessment for the training delivery that takes into account additional hazards (e.g., the environment in the training room and in application in service)
  • if resistance-based simulations (or role plays) are being used, a second trainer must be present with one trainer having the responsibility for ensuring safety 

4.2.2 All trainers delivering training in restrictive interventions must hold current first aid certification. As a minimum requirement for health professionals this must be Immediate Life support Training. For non-health care professionals, it should be the Emergency First Aid at Work one day programme which includes CPR and AED. Different premises may require different levels of training.

 

  • The training provider should check that services whose staff are to be trained in restraint, have undertaken a detailed risk assessment of first aid / life support training requirements, which takes account of the risk profiles of techniques being taught to their staff and that AED s are available in the service
  • Before delivering any physical restraint training the trainer must satisfy themselves that the commissioning organisation has the appropriate level of first aid certification. As a minimum requirement for health professionals this must be Immediate Life support Training. For non-health care professionals, it should be the Emergency First Aid at Work one day programme which includes CPR and AED. This should be in line with HSE requirement and include required refresher training. It is recommended that participants also do the e lifesaver training from the Resus UK council.

 

The non-mandatory risk assessment tool to inform training ratios has also been updated following feedback.

Find the full and updated Restraint Reduction Network Standards here


References to two pieces of guidance have been updated: