[A survey on security services in psychiatric hospitals]

Psychiatric clinics use security services to varying degrees and for different tasks; however, empirical data on this do not yet exist.

The aim of the study was to obtain an overview of the frequency, type and extent of the use of security services in psychiatric hospitals in Germany.

An online questionnaire developed with the participation of a patient organization was sent to 266 chief physicians of psychiatric clinics.

Of the questionnaires 108 were completed in full (response rate: 40.6%). Security services are deployed in 46% of the participating clinics. In 82% of these clinics the security service personnel are employed by external service providers. Security services are most frequently used in outdoor areas of the hospital grounds (70%), followed by the central emergency department (42%) and the general psychiatric wards (38%). Security services are most often used to secure the site (74%); however, they are also used close to patients, e.g., in medical emergency situations, for monitoring/1:1 care during coercive measures and during admission or therapeutic consultations.

Security services are frequently deployed in psychiatric clinics. The deployment close to patients can be legally problematic. Little is known about the actual benefits of using security services and further research is needed in this area.