Page 69 - Reduction of coercive measures
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                                There are certain forms of care for which periodic reporting would be sufficient, such as situations involving surveillance technologies, or where visits or use of a telephone are restricted. In the case of restraint and separation measures, meanwhile, both the frequency and duration should be reported. It was also stated that the measure itself should be described, together with any risks that could possibly arise, such as the risk that the client may suffer physical or psychological damage. If external reporting is to be effective, it is also seen as essential for care providers to have an awareness of what involuntary care means and an understanding of the client’s perspective.
Improving awareness
In the experts’ view, careful and comprehensive reporting will require clearer definitions of the nine described forms of involuntary care and an increased understanding of the concept of resistance. This in turn will help to ensure proper legal protection for clients. The experts believe that providing clear guidelines on what care providers have to report on a real-time basis and explaining the purpose of the reporting can have a significant impact on increasing the awareness process in the field. And this awareness, in turn, may also have a positive effect on the quality of externally reporting of involuntary care. Many lessons can be learned from the UK. According to Bartlett (2014), figures confirm that the DOLS have made little impact in practice. Bartlett suggests that the government must be more clear as to what is intended to be achieved. Only then the system can be effective. Blamires et al. (2016) emphasize that training and raising awareness about the DOLS are crucial. They believe that perceptions arising from the wording “deprivation of liberty” may have made care home managers less able to see the potential benefits and importance of using the safeguards. Other important factors are assessors who have a good knowledge of persons with intellectual disabilities and access to good quality advocacy and representation.
Reporting coercive measures
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