Reporting of oral chemical restraint in the Mental Health Services Monthly Statistics for England.

Aims and method: This study examines more than 5.8 million bed days of data from private and National Health Service care providers who contribute to the Mental Health Services Monthly Statistics in the UK. The use of oral chemical restraint is compared with provider size, and the relative use of oral chemical restraint as opposed to seclusion is investigated.

Results: The data-set has large amounts of missing data. The use of oral chemical restraint is proportional to provider size in terms of bed days. Analysis of those providers who reliably submit data demonstrates patterns of reported use of oral chemical restraint versus use of seclusion.

Clinical implications: Further research is required into the institutional characteristics that are correlated with increased use of oral chemical restraint. Efforts to investigate the use of restrictive interventions in mental health settings are frustrated by inconsistent reporting.