The Voluntary Organisations Disability Group (VODG), who represent leading not-for-profit providers of services and support to disabled people, are backing a new development of the national training standard for restraint training.

VODG said: “There has been a lack of quality assurance for restraint training and too often training focuses on restrictive interventions, without sufficient focus on prevention or de-escalation.

“The Restraint Reduction Network (RRN) have led the development of the national training standards which VODG is pleased to have backed.”

The standards will aim to promote culture change, not just technical skills. The standards will:

• Protect people’s fundamental human rights and promote person-centred, best interest and therapeutic approaches to supporting people when they are distressed
• Reduce reliance on restrictive practices by promoting positive culture and practice that focuses on prevention, de-escalation and reflective practice to minimise use of restrictive practices
• Increase focus on prevention, understanding of the root causes of behaviour and recognition that many behaviours are the result of distress due to failing to meet needs
• Improve staff skills and confidence in how to keep people safe in a crisis and to better understand how to meet people’s needs in order to prevent crisis situations
• Improve the quality of life and protect the fundamental human rights of people at risk of being restrained and those supporting them
• Where required, focus on the safe use of restrictive interventions including physical restraint

Find out more about the standards and the RRN on their website here.