‘Care and Responsibility’, previously labelled ‘Control and Restraint’, is a nationally recognized approach to physical restraint. This study explores how 11 nursing staff, who work with people with learning disabilities and behaviour that challenges services, evaluate the method. Whilst there has been a considerable debate in the literature concerning physical restraint methods – and the discussion is often vociferous – there is no consensus about the appropriateness of different approaches. Peculiarly, the opinions of staff are at the periphery, or worse still, absent from the arena. In this qualitative project, this issue is addressed by using intensive, semi-structured interviews to probe the views of the participants. The interviewees discussed a range of topics and identified a number of main themes. This paper details one of these, teamwork, and explores three key elements associated with this category.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BeckerH.S.1967Whose side are we on?Social Problems, 14(3): 239–247.
2.
BibbyP.1995Personal Safety for Health Care Workers.Ashgate PublishingAldershot
3.
BreakwellG.M.1989Facing Physical Violence.The British Psychological Society and RoutledgeLondon
4.
BreakwellG.M.1997Coping with Aggressive Behaviour.The British Psychological SocietyLeicester
5.
Code of Practice Mental Health Act1983, Department of Health and Welsh Office revised 1993.HMSOLondon
DaviesW.1989The Prevention of Assault on Professional Helpers. In: HowellsK., HollinC.R. (Eds) Clinical Approaches to Violence.John Wiley & SonsChichester, pp 311–328
8.
DelamontS.1992Fieldwork in Educational Settings: Methods, Pitfalls & Perspectives.Falmer PressLondon
9.
EmersonR.M.1987Four ways to improve fieldwork.Journal of Contemporary Ethnography16(1): 69–89.
10.
GilbertJ.1988Exercising some restraint.Social Work Today 20th October: 16–18
11.
HammersleyM., AtkinsonP.1995Ethnography: Principles in Practice, 2nd ed.RoutledgeLondon
12.
HarrisJ., AllenD., CornickM., JeffersonA., MillsR.1996Physical Interventions a Policy Framework.Bild PublicationsKidderminster
13.
HastingsR.P.1996Staff strategies and explanations for intervening with challenging behaviours.Journal of Intellectual Disability Research40(2): 166–175.
14.
Health Services Advisory Committee1987Violence to staff in the health services.HMSOLondon
15.
HoptonJ.1995Control and restraint in contemporary psychiatric nursing: some ethical considerations.Journal of Advanced Nursing22(1): 110–115.
16.
Hornsby-SmithM.1993Gaining Access. In: FieldingN. (Ed). Researching Social Life.SageLondon
KinkleS.L.1993Violence in the ED: how to stop it before it starts.American Journal of Nursing93(7): 22–24.
19.
LionJ.R., SnyderW., MerrilG.L.1981Underreporting of assaults on staff in a state hospital.Hospital and Community Psychiatry32(7): 497–498.
20.
LittlechildB.1995Violence against social workers.Journal of Interpersonal Violence10(1): 123–130.
21.
LoflandJ., LoflandL.H.1995Analyzing Social Settings, 8th Ed.WadsworthBelmont, USA
22.
MartinJ.1984Hospitals in Trouble.BlackwellOxford
23.
MayT.1993Social Research: Issues, Methods and Process.Open University PressBuckingham
24.
McCrackenG.1988The Long Interview.SageCalifornia
25.
McDonnellA., DeardenB., RichensA.1991a Staff training in the management of violence and aggression: 1 – setting up a training system.Mental Handicap15: 73–76.
26.
McDonnellA., DeardenB., RichensA.1991b Staff training in the management of violence and aggression: 3 – physical restraint.Mental Handicap19: 151–153.
27.
McHughA., WainI., WestM.1995Handle with care.Nursing Times91(6): 62–63.
28.
McMasterJ.1988Points of view.Journal of Social Welfare Law10(3): 145–146.
29.
MoreW., MaquireJ.1995Handling Aggression and Violence in the Health services.Pepar PublicationsBirmingham
30.
MoreW., NormanG.1997Responding to violence: a model for health and care agencies.Pepar PublicationsBirmingham
NUPE Survey1991Violence in the Health Service.NUPELondon
33.
PatersonB., TurnbullJ., AitkenI.1992An evaluation of a training course in the short-term management of violence.Nurse Education Today, 12: 368–375.
34.
QureshiH.1994The size of the problem. In: EmersonE., McGillP., ManselJ. (Eds). Severe Learning Disabilities and Challenging Behaviours.Chapman & HallLondon, pp 17–36
35.
ReesC., LehaneM.1996Witnessing violence to staff: a study of nurses’ experiences.Nursing Standard11(13): 45–47.
36.
RobertsM., HopkinsJ.1986Confronting violence.The Health Service Journal12: 792.
37.
RobertsonD.1993Violence in your Workplace: How to Cope.Sovenir PressLondon
38.
Royal College of Nursing1994Violence and Community Nursing Staff: A Royal College of Nursing Survey.RCNLondon
SchniedenV., Marren-BellU.1995Violence in the Accident and Emergency Department.Accident and Emergency Nursing3(2): 74–78.
41.
SpradleyJ.P.1979The Ethnographic Interview.Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York
42.
SterlingC.1998The use of natural therapeutic holding as a non-aversive physical intervention in the management of violence.British Journal of Learning Disabilities26(3): 105–109.
43.
StraussA.L., CorbinJ.1990Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Procedures and Techniques.SageLondon
44.
TarbuckP.1992a Use and abuse of control and restraint.Nursing Standard6(52): 30–32.
45.
TarbuckP.1992b Ethical standards and human rights.Nursing Standard7(6): 27–30.
46.
Topping-MorrisB.1995Break the lock.Nursing Standard9(23): 55.
