Restraint is defined as the restriction of an individual’s freedom of movement by physical or mechanical means. Data for two forms of restraint are specified by the Mental health Seclusion and Restraint National Best Endeavours Data Set (SECREST NBEDS) : mechanical restraint uses devices on a person’s body to restrict their movement (for example, belts or straps); and physical restraint uses the application by health care staff of hands-on immobilisation techniques. Unspecified restraint was reported for 2015–16 to represent combined restraint or when data providers were unable to disaggregate mechanical and physical restraint events. Data on physical restraint in Queensland is available from 2017–18.
States and territories have different policy and legislative requirements regarding restraint practices and therefore different systems in place for collecting data, and differences in the types of restraint that are reported. In addition, the reporting of restraint data is still a novel exercise, with the first release of data occurring in May 2017. It is expected that data quality will improve over time as information systems are refined and definitions are better understood by the sector. As such, caution should be exercised when interpreting this data and comparing results between states and territories and over time. The data source has further information about data quality.
In 2018–19, there were 18,690 physical restraint events nationally, which represents 11.3 physical restraint events per 1,000 bed days; mechanical restraint was less common (991 events, representing 0.6 events per 1,000 bed days) (Figure RP.6). Victoria had the highest rate of physical restraint events (24.1 events per 1,000 bed days) and mechanical restraint events (1.3 events per 1,000 bed days). This may be the result of Victoria's service delivery model producing a higher threshold for acute admission and inflating restraint metrics compared to other jurisdictions.