Sheffield mental health teams work to cut seclusion or restraint of their patients
The trust provides secondary mental health, learning disability and specialist services to around 55,000 people a year.
Sheffield NHS mental health teams are working to drastically reduce the number of times that their patients are put into seclusion or restrained.
The issue was discussed at a meeting of Sheffield City Council’s health scrutiny sub-committee yesterday (June 5), which looked at the Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust’s Quality Account report for 2024-25.
The trust provides secondary mental health, learning disability and specialist services to around 55,000 people a year.
The report said: “A person-centred approach to care planning and the use of restrictive practices is essential to ensure that care is respectful, dignified and tailored to the unique needs and preferences of each individual.
“This approach places service users at the heart of decision-making, fostering collaboration and empowerment rather than control. In contexts where restrictive practices are considered – such as seclusion, physical restraint or medication – ensuring that these interventions are used only as a last resort, and are clearly documented, reviewed, and agreed upon wherever possible with the individual, is critical.
“Prioritising person-centred care planning helps reduce the need for restrictions over time and supports a more compassionate, responsive and accountable culture of care across the trust.”
Another key objective for the trust is to “ensure patients from racialised communities are not overrepresented in the use of restrictive practices such as restraint and seclusion”.
Coun Mary Lea commented: “The culture of a whole organisation is important from top to bottom and the systems put in place.”
Executive director Caroline Johnson responded that every instance of restrictive practice is reported every day and picked up immediately. That triggers support being given to staff.
The Dovedale 2 acute mental health in-patient ward at the Michel Carlisle Centre in Osborne Road, Nether Edge was upgraded last year and has no seclusion room. Seclusion rooms are usually used to isolate patients whose behaviour poses a risk to themselves or others.
Executive director Caroline Johnson said: “If you don’t have a seclusion room, you will encourage staff to think differently how to do things.
“If you have a seclusion room, I guarantee it will be used. We needed to change the culture.” She said that staff were “really proud” that they had changed their approach.
The report said that other forms of restrictive practice, such as physical restraint and rapid tranquilisation, have also decreased with the changes made at Dovedale 2.
Every member of staff has undertaken Respect training, with a discussion of human rights built into it, said Ms Johnson. She said the emphasis now is to give personalised, wrap-around care to every patient who is struggling and is complex in their management.
Committee chair Coun Ruth Milsom asked about the Home First policy, which aims to ensure that service users can remain at home wherever possible. Ms Johnson said: “It is about keeping people out of hospital as much as possible.
“The best place for most people is to be at home with the right care erapped aroudn them. That’s what our service users tell us.
“We didn’t get as strong as we needed to over the past year – now Home First has kicked in. We are really seeing the trajectory moving in the right direction.”
Another aim of Home First is to ensure that no service users will be treated outside Sheffield.