Safewards in Three Emergency Departments: Evaluation of the adaptation and impact of the Safewards Model in Emergency Departments

Abstract

Safewards is a model of practice improvement that has been used to promote a therapeutic response to minimise conflict events in mental health in-patient settings. This pilot project (Safewards ED) evaluated the impact of nine modified Safewards interventions in three emergency departments (EDs) within 2 health services in Victoria, Australia. A mixed method approach including: (a) questionnaire, (b) focus groups, and (c) observational cohort studies of conflict events (code grey) and coercive interventions (restraint and medication used to manage patient behaviour); was used to evaluate the Safewards ED interventions 12 months before and 6 months after the implementation. The aim of the eva..