A report released by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), “Restraint Use and Other Control Interventions for Mental Health Inpatients in Ontario,” reveals a very startling fact: restraints are being used on one in four people at some point during their visits to Ontario health care facilities. What makes this statistic even more surprising is that these methods are intended for use only as a last resort.

The report defines restraint, or “control interventions,” as seclusion or mechanical, physical, or chemical restraint.

One notable fact the report indicates is that individuals who are admitted to a general hospital are more likely to experience restraint or seclusion than those admitted to a mental health care facility. Eighty percent of mental health patients are admitted to general hospitals, while only 20 percent are admitted to mental health care facilities! So the likelihood of a mental health patient being restrained varies based upon which door they walk through.

According to the report, over the past few years, over 30,000 individuals experienced some type of controlled intervention. That is an astounding number. Fifty-nine percent of these incidents involved medication, 21 percent involved physical or mechanical restraint, and 20 percent involved seclusion.

The purpose of the CIHI report is to help health care officials understand how to reduce the use of restraint and implement alternative solutions, especially in general hospital settings. The report is the largest of its kind in Canada.

This is proof that there is much more work and training to be done to minimize the use of restraint and seclusion, not just in Canada, but worldwide. What can facilities do to reduce their use of these control interventions? How has your organization been successful in doing so? Please share your thoughts in the Comments section below.

You can read the entire report on the CIHI website. [PDF]