Page 62 - Reduction of coercive measures

Chapter 3
National reporting system of involuntary care
The real-time external reporting system that care providers are required to maintain under the planned Care and Coercion Act creates the opportunity for the Netherlands to introduce a national reporting system for involuntary care. Various sources have expressed a need for this (Schippers et al., 2018; Chapter 2 of this dissertation; Romijn &Frederiks, 2012; Dutch Health Care Inspectorate, 2012). At present, however, too many aspects remain unclear (as a result, e.g. of the use of varying definitions) for a targeted reporting system for external use to be devised. Research (Romijn & Frederiks, 2012) shows that other countries (including the UK, USA, and Australia) recognise the importance of a national database for establishing the prevalence of involuntary care. However, these countries too currently have insufficient insights into the frequency of involuntary care and how it is reported. The Dutch Health Care Inspectorate has emphasised that standardised reporting is important if we are to understand the extent to which such care is provided and to reduce its frequency. Although involuntary care is believed to be decreased, no concrete figures are available (Dutch Health Care Inspectorate, 2015).
According to Huckshorn (2004), maintaining comprehensive records will not only identify any possible decrease in involuntary care, but also actively contribute to reducing its frequency. Although it is important, in accordance with the wishes of the Dutch Health Care Inspectorate, for all forms of involuntary care to be reported, the Association for the Care of the Disabled (VGN), the sector organisation for care of the disabled in the Netherlands, has asked for those working in the field to be allowed to compile more limited and less detailed reporting. In this way, the VGN is seeking to limit the administrative burden on day-to-day practice (Parliamentary Papers II, 2016/17, 32399, No. 35). This is also seen in the UK with the use of the DOLS. Professionals worry about the bureaucracy and complexity of the procedure (Blamires, Forrester-Jones, & Murphy, 2016), which could be an explanation for the low number of applications for DOLS by managing authorities of care homes or hospitals. Bartlett (2014) also stresses the importance of a simple procedure to avoid averseness
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