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Safety and security: a survey of female psychiatric in-patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Fiona Barlow*
Affiliation:
Leonard Lodge Child and Family Psychiatry Clinic, 3 Lennard Road, Croydon CR0 2UL
Paul Wolfson
Affiliation:
Bexley Hospital, Kent DA5 2BW
*
Correspondence
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Abstract

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Fifty-three female in-patients of a psychiatric hospital were interviewed to obtain their views on their own safety and security, and what improvements they would recommend. Most had experienced sexual harassment and a few had been victims of sexual assault. There was a reluctance to report incidents to staff. The majority felt that female-only wards would improve safety. Other recommendations included higher staffing levels, more staff awareness and vigilance, and single rooms with curtains on the doors.

Type
Original Papers
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © 1997 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

References

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