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 (for example, using devices such as belts, or straps); and, Physical restraint (for example, the application by health care staff of hands-on immobilisation techniques). Unspecified restraint, that is, the type of restraint is unknown, has been removed from 2016–17 onwards. Data on Physical restraint is available for Queensland for the first time for 2017–18.
States and territories have different policy and legislative requirements regarding restraint practices and have therefore had different processes and systems in place for collecting data, and differences in the types of restraint which 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 section has further information about data quality.
In 2017–18, there were 16,917 Physical restraint events nationally, which represents 10.3 Physical restraint events per 1,000 bed days; while Mechanical restraint was less common (796 events, representing 0.5 events per 1,000 bed days) (Figure RP.6). Victoria had the highest rate of Physical restraint events (22.0 events per 1,000 bed days) and Mechanical restraint events (1.4 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.