Safety and Security in Behavioral Health Arena
Evaluate post-violent incidents to identify alternatives to handle these situations and prevent future episodes. Educate staff to maintain competency in a safe environment. Consider the use of resource officers to monitor behavioral patients. Guidelines and checklists are provided below to follow the appropriate course of action.
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Post-Incident Debriefing Form
Debriefing helps healthcare workers and the patient evaluate a crisis situation and plan to avoid future episodes throughout the patient’s stay. Interventions such as debriefing sessions with patients post-violent episodes help to prevent reoccurring violence. This resource is a post-incident debriefing form to assist healthcare professionals in finding alternatives to aggressive or dangerous behaviors through the use of debriefing. This checklist provides the steps for conducting a debriefing interview and provides a guide to open communication.
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Use Security Officers to Monitor High-Risk Patients
Is your organization using security officers as sitters or one-on-one observers? If so, be sure your staff are appropriately trained and competent in the tasks being delegated to them. HC Pro’s Hospital Safety Center has released an article detailing the pitfalls of such assignments.
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Sample Sitter Guidelines
This document provides guidelines for sitters who observe patients identified as a danger to themselves and others. The form is an education tool for sitters to make them aware of expectations while they are sitting with the patient, including when to notify the nurse immediately. These guidelines are an important resource to help maintain a safe environment of care for patients.