Roy Butterworth and Iain Harbison argue that a national framework governing violence prevention is needed to prevent death or injury after restraint

In light of the decision by the Department of Health (DH) to exclude serious injury or death by physical restraint from the list of ‘never events’, it is clear that national standards for violence reduction are needed. This article argues that the DH, the National Patient Safety Agency and professional organisations such as the royal colleges should take responsibility for the establishment of national standards for training in physical restraint, and that service providers should be obliged and empowered to comply with them.