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Safe handling and correct holding of uncooperative patients who pose a threat to themselves or their surroundings are important skills that help healthcare professionals manage difficult situations when providing healthcare services and ensure the safety of the surroundings and the patient themselves. In the Czech environment, the issue of safe handling and holding has not received as much attention as in some neighbouring countries, where in some cases inappropriate holding has resulted in patient harm. In the following text, we focus on the risks of using the pronation position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tobacco use is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. The prevalence of tobacco smoking is significantly higher among patients undergoing psychiatric treatment compared to the general population. Despite clear evidence of positive effects resulting from the cessation of smoking in patients receiving mental health treatment, quitting smoking still remains a controversial issue among specialists. In 2018, Military University Hospital Prague introduced a pilot fully non-smoking environment at the acute psychiatric care department. Part of this concept is a complex ban on tobacco use during hospitalization (including new forms of tobacco and nicotine products). The project proved to be viable, it doesn't significantly complicate the course of hospitalization and the acute psychiatric care department is already permanently in a non-smoking regime. All support is available to patients to bridging the period when they can't smoke. Because smoking cessation has an impact on the plasma concentrations of some psychopharmaceuticals, monitoring is established in teamwork with a clinical pharmacist. At the same time, the smoking cessation in psychiatric treatment is full of many myths that still prevent professionals from introducing non-smoking environments. The aim of this article is to contribute to a further discussion on the spread of non-smoking policy in psychiatric and addictology workplaces. Three years of experience from the psychiatric ward in Military University Hospital Prague show that it is possible to implement and adhere to it without negative consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Safewards model offers an inspiring approach to creating a positive atmosphere in psychiatric wards. It was developed by a team of researchers led by Prof. Len Bowers of Kings College, London. The authors try to understand and describe the basic sources of conflict in psychiatric wards, their triggers and possible reactions of staff. Based on extensive research, they then propose specific interventions to minimize the occurrence of conflicts, incidents and the use of restrictive measures. The Safewards model is currently used in many psychiatric wards in a number of European countries, such as Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Poland and elsewhere. The current experience with its implementation is very positive and the results have been published in many scholarly journals. In 2020, we managed to translate into Czech a large part of texts that are freely accessible to professional and lay public on www.safewards.net. The following text summarizes the basic concepts of the Safewards model and briefly describes the constituent interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of smokers in the Czech population is around 25-30%. In the population of people with mental illness, the number of smokers is 2 times higher. Tobacco dependence is a very important preventable factor associated with a higher risk of many serious diseases. People with mental illness die 10 to 20 years earlier than the general population. Despite the above facts, completely non-smoking psychiatric wards in the Czech Republic are rather the exception. There are numbers of barriers and prejudices preventing the emergence of non-smoking psychiatric workplaces. In this article we describe specific experiences with the introduction of non-smoking environment at the psychiatric ward at UVN. There, after the introduction of a total smoking ban, we tried to monitor various parameters showing the possible impact of this measure on life on wards. We have noticed the reactions of staff and patients, the cost of nicotine replacement therapy, patient satisfaction, the growth of conflicts. We present our findings in our text, which may be a motivation for other workplaces or at least an inspiration to reflect on the many myths that accompany smoking restrictions in psychiatric wards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Ceská a Slovenská Psychiatrie is the property of Czech Medical Association of JE Purkyne and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)