Body cameras on staff reduced attacks in psychiatric wards, finds study

A mental health unit where staff members wore body cameras saw incidents involving emergency restraint halve over three months and complaints drop, a pilot study has found. Violent incidents also decreased on three of the five wards studied, though incidents of verbal abuse increased.

Alex O’Neill-Kerr, clinical medical director at Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said that if larger studies showed similar results then the scheme could be rolled out to psychiatric units across the country.

“Improving patient and staff safety, coupled with improving the quality of care afforded, are key priorities for us,” he said, “and we are always striving to find innovative ways to achieve those objectives. As this …