Editing Physical restraint (section)

====United Kingdom====
The Millfields Charter is an [[electronic component|electronic]] [[charter]] which promotes an end to the teaching to frontline healthcare staff of all prone (face down) restraint holds.<ref>{{cite web |title=Millfields Charter - against abusive practice |url=http://millfieldscharter.com/charter.php |website=millsfieldcharter.com}}</ref> Despite a UK government statement in 2013 that it was minded to impose a ban on such techniques in mental health facilities,<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22955917 |title='Excessive' use of face-down restraint in mental health hospitals |work=BBC |date=18 June 2013 |access-date=19 June 2013}}</ref> by 2017 the use of restraints in UK psychiatric facilities had increased.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Greenwood |first1=George |title=Rise in mental health patient restraints |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-41914555 |website=BBC News |date=16 November 2017}}</ref>

Face down restraints are used more often on women and girls than on men.  51 out of 58 mental health trusts use restraints unnecessarily when other techniques would work.  Organisations opposed to restraints include [[Mind (charity)|Mind]] and [[Rethink Mental Illness]]. YoungMinds and Agenda claim restraints are "frightening and humiliating" and "re-traumatises" patients especially women and girls who have previously been victims of physical and/or sexual abuse.  The charities sent an open letter to health secretary, [[Jeremy Hunt]] showing evidence from 'Agenda, the alliance for women and girls at risk', revealing that patients are routinely restrained in some mental health units while others use non-physical ways to calm patients or stop self-harm.  According to the letter over half of women with psychiatric problems have suffered abuse, restraint can cause physical harm, can frighten and humiliate the victim.  Restraint, specially face down restraint can re-traumatise patients who previously suffered violence and abuse. "Mental health units are meant to be caring, therapeutic environments, for people feeling at their most vulnerable, not places where physical force is routine".

Government guidelines state that face down restraint should not be used at all and other types of physical restraint are only for last resort.  Research by Agenda found one fifth of women and girl patients in mental health units had suffered physical restraint. Some trusts averaged over twelve face down restraints per female patient.  Over 6% of women, close to 2,000 were restrained face-down in total more than 4,000 times. The figures vary widely between regions.

Some trusts hardly use restraints, others use them routinely.  A woman patient was in several hospitals and units at times for a decade with mental health issues, she said in some units she suffered restraints two or three times daily.  Katharine Sacks-Jones director of Agenda, maintains trusts use restraint when alternatives would work.  Sacks-Jones maintains women her group speak to repeatedly describe face down restraint as a traumatic experience.  On occasions male nurses have used it when a woman did not want her medication. "If you are a woman who has been sexually or physically abused, and mental health problems in women often have close links to violence and abuse, then a safer environment has to be just that: safe and not a re-traumatising experience. (...) Face-down restraint hurts, it is dangerous, and there are some big questions around why it is used more on women than men".<ref>{{cite news |last1=McVeigh |first1=Tracy |title=End humiliating restraint of mentally ill people, say charities |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/mar/05/stop-face-down-restraint-mentally-ill-charities |newspaper=The Guardian |date=4 March 2017}}</ref>