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	One in five mental health professionals are not trained to deal with violent and aggressive patients, it has emerged.</p>
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	A new European study led by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland also found there was a lack of clarity on violence management in psychiatric hospitals.</p>
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	It reveals that just 30% of mental health professionals received training in the past year, while just 9% stated that it had been over five years since they last received any relevant training.</p>
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	Worryingly, 37% of mental health professionals in Ireland reported that it had been more than five years since they received violence management training, which is way above the European average.</p>
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	The study, published in the journal, BMC Health Services Research, was based on a survey of 2,800 healthcare professionals from 17 countries across Europe, including Ireland. It also emerged that Europe has an ageing, mental healthcare workforce, with more than one in five (21%) qualified for more than 25 years. The figure in Ireland is higher, at 34%.</p>
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	Professor of nursing at RCSI and lead author, Prof Seamus Cowman, said violent episodes and staff assaults have escalated in mental health services across Europe: &ldquo;In agriculture, the use of land and the welfare of farm animals and fishing is regulated. In mental health services, a vital and controversial human intervention, such as coercion and violence management, is devoid of EU direction on best practice.&rdquo;</p>
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	The study points out that language differences in Europe may have contributed to insular thinking but stresses that this must not be seen as a barrier to sharing best practice.</p>
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	Ireland has a higher training level than other European countries. Just one in 10 (10.3%) have never received training.</p>
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	&ldquo;Private companies provide training in a lot of Irish hospitals, but the question I would raise is how successful in reducing violent episodes. The issue is about the quality of the training provided and whether it is fit for purpose,&rdquo; said Prof Cowman.</p>
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	The study also highlights that mental health professionals must be able to meet the needs of traumatised migrants, now living in Europe, who may suffer from mental health difficulties.</p>
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	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 19th March 2017)</p>
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	<a href="http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/20-of-mental-health-professionals-are-not-trained-to-deal-with-violent-patients-445553.html">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/20-of-mental-health-professionals-are-not-trained-to-deal-with-violent-patients-445553.html</a></p>
