Understanding the Consumers' Experiences of Safewards: A Qualitative Exploratory Study

Safewards is a model and set of interventions with demonstrated effectiveness in reducing conflict and containment which are associated with negative consumer experiences within inpatient mental health settings. Safewards has been widely adopted internationally as a way of enhancing safety and reducing restrictive practices. Despite this, consumers' experiences of Safewards and its effect on their personal safety are less understood and therefore require further exploration. This qualitative exploratory study sought to explore consumers' experiences of Safewards in acute inpatient mental health units. The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) checklist was used for reporting purposes. Fifteen consumers across two sites participated in semi-structured focus groups. Thematic analysis generated four themes: (1) engaging consumers in Safewards, (2) consumers supporting each other, (3) interacting and communicating and (4) access, availability and expectations. Participants expressed positive views about Safewards and wanted to be more involved in its day-to-day application. Enhanced consumer involvement in Safewards was associated with improved safety and wellbeing for consumers within acute inpatient mental health units. These findings have the potential to influence practice towards improving the consumers experience of Safewards. This requires an exploration of ways to harness informal consumer supports, recognising that consumers need to spend meaningful time with nurses to feel safe and acknowledging that all forms of restrictive practice have an impact on consumers within acute inpatient environments.