Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that staff in the mental health sector are trained (a) in de-escalation techniques and (b) to administer the safest techniques when physically restraining service users.

The coalition government published ‘Positive and Proactive Care; reducing the need for restrictive interventions’ and ‘A Positive and Proactive Workforce’ in April 2014. Both guidance documents are clear that corporate training strategies to manage violence and aggression should include clear learning outcomes about effective use of de-escalation techniques, the risks associated with restrictive interventions and safe implementation of restrictive physical interventions.