Declining use of restrictive practices in approved centres in Ireland in 2023 and 2024
Steps taken by the Mental Health Commission and by service providers to improve quality care through the adoption of a human rights-based approach.
The Mental Health Commission (MHC) has published a report demonstrating a significant decline in the use of restrictive practices – such as seclusion and physical restraint – across Irish mental health services in the past seven years.
Authored by the Inspector of Mental Health Services, Professor Jim Lucey, the report shows that the total number of restrictive practice episodes in approved mental health centres has fallen by 62% from 2018 to 2024, while there has been a 91% reduction in seclusion and physical restraint in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) over the same period.
Entitled ‘Declining use of restrictive practices in approved centres in Ireland in 2023 and 2024’, the report highlights how steps taken by the Mental Health Commission, and by service providers, to improve quality care through the adoption of a human rights-based approach has accelerated the downward trend in these types of practices.
