Can anyone advise?

[winky]

Hi

This is my first ever post - so please bear with me if I ramble on a bit.

The service I work in recently underwent the 3 day positive approaches to challenging behaviour training - all was positive, the training was well received and I really thought we were going to make significant steps to working with people in a far more positive & human way.

Boy, was I wrong! Maybe I'm just naive but I never expected a 'die hard' group of staff to react so strongly to the prospect of never restraining a person on the floor again. I actually believe that a situation was engineered recently to 'make a case' for restraining a guy on the floor - but would never be able to prove this.

Anyone got any suggestions to help me address these issues and beliefs with these few staff members? I try to spend as much time as possible in this part of the service to promote the alternatives we were taught - but can't be there all of the time.

It's taken me years to get this training in place - it was desperately needed - but I feel that these 'saboteurs' may do all they can to undermine the rest of the team - and ultimately use approaches that are damaging to individuals.

I'm sure others will have found ways to overcome these issues in their areas of work so any ideas or experiences would be really helpful.


Told you I would ramble!

[becky]

I think I would initially go back to the company policy and ensure that that supports that training that you are giving - and if necessary ammend the policy ( if you can) stating that low arousal approaches need to be adopted and that physical restaint is the last resort @when all other methods have been tried and failed' or the 'TINA' approach There Is No Alternative). The physical approaches that are used need to comply with those agreed in the policy and care plan.

I would also ( with the manager if necessary) meet with the few staff ( on a 1:1) if necessary and discuss their concerns openly - giving them a chance to express their feelings, and then go through the legal issues surrounding restaint, and if necessary explain the issues with not following the policy and care plan. I.e has this happened before, is there a plan in place, where you following that plan ( that should have been agreed with your colleagues and professionals)

If not following the care plan could/should lead to disciplinary action, lossing job and/or criminal action for abusive practise. With the mental capacity act we need to do what is in the persons best interest - and not what the staff think is in there best interest, and also need to ensure that we are not degrading clients or punishing then.

Now I'm rabbiting on.

If you are still struggling with this then it may be worth asking Studio 3 to come to help you deal with the specific issues and explain to staff the consequences of not following policies and procedures.

I wish you luck and I hope that helps.

[winky]

Hi Becky

Thanks for your support and ideas. They all sound really useful and I will be giving them all some serious thought.

We're a bit disadvantaged at the moment in terms of Policy as the one we have was written on parchment! But that is another area that I am working on and hope to get some support from Studio 3 for this (I believe thay have a Policy template that might help me). Do you know if this is the case?

My problem is I'm working with some very entrenched staff who find change difficult and in my experience (not just for this issue) this is the hardest thing to deal with. Change itself poses problems for people and they don't like it.

My HR dept has been very supportive and is encouraging me to use disciplinary processes - and if I need to I will - but I'd much rather try and support staff to see the benefits of working in positive ways.

Anyway - thank you for your advice - any more suggestions would be really welcome.

Winky

[graeme]

Dear Winky,

I feel for your frustration. So often with the 'diehard' element it can be a 'power' issue and that can be a difficult value base to shift.

On a positive note, I would be happy to forward you a template policy which you can adapt to the terminology that is recognised in your service. It is written to work in tandem with the training and is quite unambiguous about what is and what isn't acceptable practice. If you contact me on the contact link (http://studio3.org/contact/) at the top of the page I will forward you a copy by return.

The other thing that I would say is that we are a training systems orgaanisation and not an outfit that delivers a course and walk away. We would be pleased to meet with your staff and augment the original training with some additional support. But I have to say that 'Diehards' can become 'dinasaurs', and we all know what happened to them!

Best wishes,

Graeme

[winky]

Thanks for the advice Graeme - I've sent a message asking for the Policy template

I am going to hold the thought that die hards become dinosaurs and eventually die out ...............

[BeaBrown]

Thanks for the advice Graeme - I've sent a message asking for the Policy template

I am going to hold the thought that die hards become dinosaurs and eventually die out ...............
Hi, Im also new to the site although we have had S3 in my workplace for several years it has taken time for it to be accepted. after the first set of training sessions the general view was that 'you just give in and give the client a mars bar'. Im happy to say that slowly but surely the staff team have come around alot. staff defintely are just as adverse to change as the most autistic of our client group and sometimes worse. I also believe getting them to put them selves in the clients position is a major step forward along with the view that disability does NOT lesen thier human rights. Its a slow process but every small step forward is a step toward a better future for all, client group and staff. They will get it with your help, so keep on plodding onwards, good luck

[Hans]

Hi Winky

I am a Studio Trainer in Denmark. My thoughts on your situation is that I can´t stop thinking where is the manager? My experience on Studio 3 courses that make a quick change in a facility, is that when the managers participate on the course and keep the staff focused on that this is the way we are going to work, it often automaticly happens that dinosaurs or die hards, find another place to work. If they don´t the manager would have a good case to have a disciplinary talk with them.
it might be a hard way, but I think that some people shouldn´t work in the area of care, but other places, and those people sometimes feel happy when someone actually takes the decision for them. I don´t believe that a person that enjoys their work with other people can make themselves do such degrading acts. So actually it might be a help to the dinosaurs to find another line of work!

Hope that it soon will get better for you and the clients

Hans