Your role as guardian
As a guardian, you must always act in the best interests of the person you are appointed to represent. This includes enabling them to experience the same rights and freedoms as all people.
The use of restrictive practices impacts greatly on a person’s rights and therefore should be avoided where possible.
If the person you represent is on psychotropic medications, or you are approached by a medical practitioner to provide consent, you should make enquiries as to the purpose of the medication. Is it to treat a diagnosed condition, or is the medication purely used to control challenging behaviours?
Questions to ask are:
- How serious is the behaviour and does it pose a threat to the person or to others?
- What are the recommendations from a behaviour support plan or specialist assessment?
- How will the medication benefit the person and is it the least restrictive option?
- What alternate strategies, including positive practices have been used to ensure that the chemical restraint is used as a last resort?
- What is the dosage of the medication and is it proportionate to the behaviour, i.e. not more excessive than what it needs to be?
- What are the side effects and how will it interact with the person’s other medications?
- How will the medication and behaviours be monitored and reviewed?
As the person’s legal guardian, you can give or withhold consent to the use of psychotropic medication as a chemical restraint if you have been appointed with the restrictive practices function – this is a specific decision-making authority contained in guardianship orders.
There are different types of restrictive practices, so the guardianship order will usually name the practice you are authorised to give or withhold consent to, for example, “Restrictive Practice – Chemical Restraint”.
If you don’t have the function, you will need to apply to have the guardianship order reviewed.
Ultimately, your decision to give or withhold consent to the use of psychotropic medication as a chemical restraint should be guided by professional advice. However, it’s your job to ask questions and advocate as far as possible that all other positive behaviour support strategies have been attempted to keep the person or others safe.