CONSUMER AFFAIRS BULLETIN
Volume 4, No. 2 Spring 2000

Update on Restraint and Seclusion Issues

National activities continue with regard to protecting the rights and safety of consumers/survivors who are subject to restraint and/or seclusion.

Two congressional hearings were held in 1999 and four bills have been introduced into Congress to legislate concerns of consumer/survivor death and injury resulting from these interventions.

In addition to its on-going work to administer the Protection and Advocacy program, CMHS has been active in addressing these concerns. This includes:

• Sponsoring meetings examining citizen hospital monitoring and consumer satisfaction teams as means of providing consumer-focused oversight.
• Supporting a monograph that analyzed various public policies regarding restraint and seclusion.
• Working with the the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in the development of national standards for hospitals and residential treatment centers on the use of restraint and seclusion.
• Working with the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations in revising their standards on this topic.
• Presenting to the SAMHSA and CMHS National Advisory Councils on these issues.
• Working with the Department of Health and Human Services in addressing medical errors.
• Examining facility training needs to improve outcomes and protect consumer/survivor rights.

(For more information: contact, Paolo del Vecchio, at 301-443-2619 or by e-mail at pdelvecc@samhsa.gov.)

Consumer Affairs Bulletin
Volume 4, No. 2 Spring 2000