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Canberra Today 16°/19° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Calm replaces lone distress

EXERCISE, music and psychotherapy are being used to calm patients suffering from aggressive outbursts at the Canberra Hospital’s psychiatric services unit, making it a “significantly safer place”.

The traditional approach of locking people suffering an acute episode in a room alone causes trauma, according to new research.

Executive director for mental health, justice health and alcohol and drug services Katrina Bracher said the new method is based on “treatment in the least-restricted way possible”.

“When we listened to our consumers they have found the seclusion practice very traumatic,” she said.

The hospital, one of 11 to adopt the national Beacon project, has reduced seclusion rates from 37.93 per cent in 2008-2009 to 2.27 per cent in 2010-2011.

As part of the new method, the PSU has developed a collaborative meeting between consumer representatives and members of a multi-disciplinary team, to review and examine all seclusion episodes.

An early support team is also being implemented with ward services to develop further ways to respond to consumer distress in a positive manner.

ACT Mental Health Consumer Network member and former patient Bradley Fox Lewin is a consumer consultant to the seclusion review and restraint meeting.

He said there’s still patient distress in the PSU, but it’s now a significantly safer place.

“Two or three years ago there were more occasions of verbal abuse and threats to property and as a result would end in seclusion,” he said.

“Now every single possible thing is done to reduce the damage.

“Even in the hardest situation staff are now questioning, even if there’s a  perceived danger, what else can they do other than seclude?”

“Some people say elimination [of seclusion] is possible.

“I think it should remain part of the discussion. I think it’s possible for seclusion to be 99.9 per cent elimination. It’s a goal.”

Mr Fox Lewin said communication between PSU staff, wards people and consumers had been vital in overcoming seclusion.

The Canberra Hospital’s work in reducing seclusion has been presented at a National Seclusion Conference and at a national mental health conference. A consumer-led research project is under way and a paper has been accepted at an international safety conference in Hong Kong.

A new 40 bed PSU unit is under construction at Canberra Hospital and will include 10 beds for high dependency and 30 beds for low dependency patients.

The unit will also include recreational and spiritual spaces.

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Ian Meikle, editor

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