Justifying Blanket Restrictions
Blanket restrictions (restrictions applied across a group of patients in a ward/unit) are one of the most complex and confusing areas of practice in inpatient mental health and learning disability settings.
As a result, the inappropriate use of blanket restrictions is one of the most common regulatory breaches at CQC inspections of mental health and learning disability services in England, but more importantly people are being unnecessarily deprived of their liberty, choice and dignity every day.
This resource pack is to guide staff and services to understand blanket restrictions, how they can be managed in practice and why it is important that we move away from institutionalised practices to ensure that blanket restrictions are always justified and as least restrictive as possible.
https://mangotreegroup.co.uk/resources/justifying-blanket-restrictions/
What if these “blanket policies” are discriminatory?
The imposition of blanket policy may be deemed discriminatory as it discriminates against people with protected characteristics.
I have personal experience of a body attempting to use a blanket policy, which was discriminatory.