Pitfalls

  • Failure to recognise underlying medical causes for the behaviour, e.g. Hypoxia or head injury. Beware that acute changes in behavior are a medical condition until proven otherwise.
  • Failure to disengage, when danger signs are present i.e. not recognizing the need for physical restraint in an appropriate and timely fashion.
  • Dismissing challenging patients from the department, before excluding significant medical or psychiatric causes.