Galway Bay fm newsroom - A new report has found that reported incidents of restrictive practices at UHG’s Adult Acute Mental Health Unit more than doubled year-on-year.
Figures released by the Mental Health Commission show the use of restrictive practices at the unit rose from 233 in 2018 to 492 in 2019.
The report details the number of times restrictive practices, such as the use of physical restraints and seclusion, were used at the UHG unit between 2018 and 2019.
In 2018, there were 52 incidents of seclusion recorded - this figure increased to 78 in 2019.
In total, 49 residents were secluded in 2018 - with the figure increasing to 60 last year.
Meanwhile, the use of physical restraints increased slightly from 180 incidents in 2018 to 181 in 2019.
Nationwide, there were almost 6,800 episodes of restrictive practices reported to the MHC last year, with close to 1,800 people being secluded and/or restrained during that time.
It comes as the Mental Health Commission has announced plan to hold a public consultation on restrictive practices in next year.
The MHC says it intends to modify the relevant rules and codes of practice in a further effort to reduce episodes of restrictive practices across the country’s mental health services.
