Abstract
There are clinical and medico-legal implications to the forced administration of neuroleptic medication to actively resisting, aggressive psychiatric patients. However, there is little information on how frequently this occurs. This survey of its incidence on an acute admission ward demonstrates that “chemical restraint” as defined, is uncommon, considering the characteristics of this patient population. It is nearly always a response to threatened or actual violence towards others. The survey discovered, unexpectedly, that there were considerable differences in the actual measures used and in drug doses used during the event, between two wards of the same treatment unit. A prospective study might correlate the different patterns with degree of success, as well as address other questions, the resolution of which would lead to better quality of care.