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3 - De-escalation

from Part I - Therapeutic interventions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 August 2009

M. Dominic Beer
Affiliation:
Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust
Stephen M. Pereira
Affiliation:
Goodmayes Hospital, Essex
Carol Paton
Affiliation:
Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust
Roland Dix
Affiliation:
Consultant Nurse in Psychiatric Intensive Care and Secure Rehabilitation; Visiting Research Fellow, University of the West of England; Executive Committee Member NAPICU; Editor in Chief, Journal of Psychiatric Intensive Care, Wotton Lawn, Horton Road, Gloucester, UK
Mathew J. Page
Affiliation:
Greyfriars Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit, Severn NHS Trust, Wotton Lawn, Gloucester, UK
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Summary

The United Kingdom is beginning to see the development of systematic approaches to the prevention and management of violence and aggression. The Mental Health Policy Implementation Guide for Developing Positive Practice to Support the Safe and Therapeutic Management of Aggression and Violence in Mental Health In-patient Settings was published by the National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE) (2004). The Guide places an emphasis on the recognition, prevention and de-escalation of aggressive behaviour and adds that this is best achieved through organisational, environmental and clinical risk assessment and management. One of the key standards set by the Guide is that all staff must be trained in recognition, prevention and de-escalation skills awareness.

Such a programme has been developed by the NHS Security Management Service (SMS) (2004). The National Syllabus for Conflict Resolution training is a generic course for all NHS frontline staff. The SMS is developing a programme specifically to meet the needs of those who work in mental health and learning disability care. This course lasts two days and includes the following modules (Nyberg-Coles 2005):

  • Recognising violence and understanding causes

  • Raising awareness of staff and service-user perspectives

  • The impact of the social and physical environment

  • Cultural awareness, diversity and racial equality

  • De-escalation and communication

  • Problem-solving and risk assessment

  • Legal and ethical issues

  • The importance of post-incident reviews and learning the lessons

De-escalation must form part of a hierarchy of responses to aggression in inpatient care. Guidance is continually being developed and evaluated.

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Chapter
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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2008

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References

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  • De-escalation
    • By Roland Dix, Consultant Nurse in Psychiatric Intensive Care and Secure Rehabilitation; Visiting Research Fellow, University of the West of England; Executive Committee Member NAPICU; Editor in Chief, Journal of Psychiatric Intensive Care, Wotton Lawn, Horton Road, Gloucester, UK, Mathew J. Page, Greyfriars Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit, Severn NHS Trust, Wotton Lawn, Gloucester, UK
  • M. Dominic Beer, Stephen M. Pereira, Carol Paton
  • Book: Psychiatric Intensive Care
  • Online publication: 22 August 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511543593.006
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Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • De-escalation
    • By Roland Dix, Consultant Nurse in Psychiatric Intensive Care and Secure Rehabilitation; Visiting Research Fellow, University of the West of England; Executive Committee Member NAPICU; Editor in Chief, Journal of Psychiatric Intensive Care, Wotton Lawn, Horton Road, Gloucester, UK, Mathew J. Page, Greyfriars Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit, Severn NHS Trust, Wotton Lawn, Gloucester, UK
  • M. Dominic Beer, Stephen M. Pereira, Carol Paton
  • Book: Psychiatric Intensive Care
  • Online publication: 22 August 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511543593.006
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • De-escalation
    • By Roland Dix, Consultant Nurse in Psychiatric Intensive Care and Secure Rehabilitation; Visiting Research Fellow, University of the West of England; Executive Committee Member NAPICU; Editor in Chief, Journal of Psychiatric Intensive Care, Wotton Lawn, Horton Road, Gloucester, UK, Mathew J. Page, Greyfriars Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit, Severn NHS Trust, Wotton Lawn, Gloucester, UK
  • M. Dominic Beer, Stephen M. Pereira, Carol Paton
  • Book: Psychiatric Intensive Care
  • Online publication: 22 August 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511543593.006
Available formats
×