Restraint in mental health settings: is it time to declare a position?

The emergence of a drive to reduce restrictive interventions has been accompanied particularly in the UK by a debate focussing on restraint positions. Any restraint intervention delivered poorly can potentially lead to serious negative outcomes. More research is required to reliably state the risk attached to a particular position in a particular clinical circumstance.Declaration of interestF.S. is a consultant psychiatrist in Psychiatric Intensive Care at the Maudsley Hospital, London. He is on the Executive Committee of the National Association of Psychiatric Intensive Care and Low Secure Units, and was a member of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Guideline Development Group for the Short-Term Management of Aggression and Violence (2015). J.P. is a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Coventry University. E.B. is a consultant and expert witness in violence reduction and the use of physical interventions, independent expert to the High Secure Hospitals Violence Reduction Manual Steering Group and a member of the College of Policing Guideline Committee Steering Group and Mental Health Restraint Expert Reference Group. B.P. is the clinical director for Crisis and Aggression Limitation and Management (CALM) Training and formerly a senior lecturer for the Faculty of Health, University of Stirling. He is a nurse and psychotherapist and presently chairs the European Network for Training in the Management of Aggression. A.O'B. is a consultant psychiatrist, the Director of Educational Programmes for the National Association of Psychiatric Intensive Care and Low Secure Units, and the Dean for Students at St George's University of London.