The use of positive behaviour support plans in mental health inpatient care: A mixed methods study.

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: There is a drive to use positive and proactive approaches to mental health care to reduce the use of restrictive practices such as seclusion and restraint. Positive behaviour support plans have been used successfully to do this in learning disability services, and in England, it is now a regulatory requirement that anyone with challenging behaviour should have an individualized behaviour support plan. However, positive behaviour support plans specifically have not been evaluated as part of routine mental health care and mental health nurses' and relatives' attitudes towards them are unknown.