A Population Study of Safety and Security in Admission Psychiatric Wards in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

A Population Study of Safety and Security in Admission Psychiatric Wards in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Issues Ment Health Nurs. 2019 Aug 09;:1-7 Authors: Marhoon A, Al-Shagag A, Cowman S Abstract Assaultive behavior is a feature of mental health services. Psychiatric staff may experience significant psychological effects in relation to assaultive behavior and aggression. The international literature highlights a lack of clarity on matters of procedure and policy pertaining to safety and security in psychiatric hospitals. There are no published studies from the Kingdom of Bahrain on safety and security in mental health services. The aim of the study is to describe the safety and security measures currently applied in the 18 psychiatric admission wards of the one and only psychiatric hospital in the Kingdom of Bahrain. A descriptive cross-sectional survey research design was used. Questionnaires were completed by the charge nurse in each psychiatric admission ward in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The instrument has previously been validated and used in Ireland and the UK. There was a response rate of 100%. The results identified deficiencies when compared to established international practice. There was a lack of security features related to the use of a swipe card system, personal panic alarms for staff, metal detectors, and rapid response team always on call. A wide range of differing practices were noted concerning the banning of items inclu...
Source: Issues in Mental Health Nursing - Category: Nursing Tags: Issues Ment Health Nurs Source Type: research