Health and Community Services Union

The sensationalist tone of Melissa Fyfe’s article in the Sunday Age ("Drug restraint 'shame' in care homes", May 9 2010) is disappointing. As is her oversimplification of the highly complex issue of providing support to people with behaviours of concern.

This article has done nothing to further the argument for better resourcing of the disability sector because she misses a fundamentally important point: an overuse of chemical restraint in the disability sector is just one symptom of a systemic failure that is the result of years of sectoral funding neglect that dates back to the previous Liberal Government.

The characterisation of staff “reaching for drugs as a quick solution” is offensive to Disability Services Professionals. Staff do not ‘reach for drugs’ in the absence of appropriate arrangement’s first having been put in place by treating health professionals.

Ms Fyfe would be well advised to note that the administration of all forms of chemical restraint is legislated by the Disability Act 2006. This requires any form of restraint to be the least restrictive alternative, form part of a person's Behaviour Management Plan [which is reviewed at least 12 monthly] and must be authorised by the Authorised Program Officer of the Service Provider. And it is important to remember that it is an offence to apply restraint or seclusion of a person with a disability outside the parameters defined in the Act.

The Health and Community Services Union supports a reduction in the use of chemical restraint. It is important to understand managing complex behaviours of concern is multifacited, challenging and resource intensive, often requiring risks to be taken. Any reduction in chemical restraint needs to be properly resourced and implemented by appropriately trained and supported staff. It is disappointing that the Office of the Senior Practitioner [OSP] has been virtually silent on this matter.

Disability Services Professionals need to be provided with different options and, in some instances, increased skills to better manage people with complex behavioural needs and this support and leadership needs to come from within the services for whom they work and, more broadly, from the Government, the Department of Human Services and the OSP.

The Health and Community Services Union believes that the following issues must be undertaken to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of both people with a disability and the Disability workforce is not put at unreasonable risk if the use of chemical restraint is to be reduced within the sector:

• Dedicated funding must be allocated for the reduction in the use of chemical restraint
• The OSP must show leadership by ensuring liaison between GPs, mental health services and service providers is improved
• More resources must be allocated to support services such as Behaviour Intervention Support Teams and psychologists
• The gap between disability services and mental health services must be bridged to ensure that people with a dual disability do not continue to fall between cracks that exist between these two over-stretched services
• Increase in the number of staff hours to ensure best practice service provision.
• Improved mentoring and access to professional development within the workforce
• Increased and specific workforce training
• Reduction in the over-use of casual workers

To fail to identify the systemic failure that underpins the overuse of chemical restraint is irresponsible but to effectively demonise a group of workers who are underpaid, undervalued by society and predominantly women is unforgivable.