Zero seclusion hui first in nearly three years

The Aukatia te noho punanga: Noho haumanu, tū rangatira mō te tokomaha Zero seclusion: Safety and dignity for all project has held its first face-to face meeting in nearly three years.

Around 60 project leaders and Mental Health and Addiction (MHA) staff from most health districts met in Wellington on 14 March to discuss ways to reduce variation in seclusion rates across the country.

Seclusion is the practice of placing a mental health consumer in a room from which they cannot exit freely.

MHA project leader Karl Wairama (centre) at the Zero Seclusion hui

MHA project lead, Karl Wairama, says as well as the chance for staff to reconnect with colleagues, the hui provided the opportunity to discuss ways to achieve the project’s goal of reducing seclusion rates in adult mental health inpatient units (excluding forensics) in participating localities to 5 percent or below by December 2023.

‘Reducing variation rates is the key to doing things consistently right,’ Karl said.

Next steps over the next few months will include the project team scheduling visits to facilities in several health districts to support staff achieve the project’s goal, he said.