The effective use of Safety Pods during de-escalation and restraint is a feature in the December issue of the Quality Network for Forensic Mental Health Services’ (QNFMHS) newsletter.

Safety Pods™ were introduced at Kemple View as part of the facility’s ongoing commitment to reducing restrictive interventions, with the aim to enhance safety and reduce injury for both staff and patients.

And since their introduction by Kemple View’s Prevention and Management of Violence and Aggression (PMVA) team at the beginning of 2018, the facility has seen a marked reduction in prone position, ground and prolonged restraint.

There was an 81% reduction in all ground restraints in 2018 compared to 2017 – and by October 2019, this had risen further to 88%.

Prone restraints, in which patients are restrained in a face down position on the floor, reduced by 82% in 2018 – and up until October in 2019 there had been no prone restraints – a 100% reduction.

Restraints lasting 10 minutes or more reduced by 12% in 2018 compared to 2017 but this has risen dramatically in 2019 so far, to 76%.

Importantly, injuries to staff have reduced by 75% in 2018 and up to October 2019, while injuries to patients reduced by 66% in 2018 – with no injuries to patients at all so far in 2019. So it is little wonder that patients have reported “better satisfaction” following the introduction of the Safety Pods.™

Writing in the December edition of the Quality Network for Forensic Mental Health Services’ newsletter, Rob Holcroft, Quality Improvement Lead at Kemple View Hospital, highlighted how the Safety Pods are easy to transport, so staff can manoeuvre the pod to the patient, minimising the higher risk movement of patients during restraint.

This reduces the likelihood of injury to both staff and patients and minimises moving and handling issues related to health and safety.

The use of Safety Pods at Kemple View was raised in the CQC report’s discussion of the use of feedback from patients to inform positive behaviour support plans and improve practice. The report states how Kemple View had invested in Safety Pods™, describing them as “specially designed bean bags that maintained the body angle at 135 degrees, which optimised chest expansion and lung function, and minimised head trauma during restraint”.

You can view the full report or you can email info@ukpodsltd.co.uk for a copy.