30 March 2022

Today, Thursday 31 March 2022, this important piece of legislation, the Mental Health Units (Use of Force) Act - Seni’s Law - is to be fully implemented.

The law change follows the death of Olaseni Lewis in 2010, after being restrained by police officers on a mental health ward in South London; at Seni’s Inquest, the restraint was described as ‘disproportionate and unreasonable.’

The Act sets out the oversight and management of the appropriate use of force on Mental Health and Learning Disability Wards and we know that it is sometimes necessary to use restrictive interventions to maintain the safety of the people who use our services and our staff.

The Act has a wide remit as the use of force includes physical, mechanical or chemical restraint, or the isolation of a person which includes seclusion and long-term segregation and it places a strong emphasis on staff ensuring that any intervention used is proportionate and reasonable. It is important that we build on the excellent work of the last few years which has reduced the use of restrictive interventions in many areas.

Our patient information booklet was put together by people with lived experience together with staff, and explains some of the things that can happen when people are distressed and the many different ways that the team can support you and others.

You can read the booklet on this link.

The Trust's Responsible Person for this Act is Maria O'Brien, Chief Nurse