Restraint and Least Restrictive Practice PolicyA Restraint and Least Restrictive Practice Policy written for your service
- Written for your organisation, not a template with your logo on it
- Read and approved by a person before it carries your name
- Verified against all 48 required elements of the legislation below
- Kept updated when the law changes, so it never quietly goes stale
No subscription needed. First year of updates included, £12 a year after that.
One-off, first year of updates included. Delivered within 2 working days of your details.
Trusted by UK care providers
Let's build your Restraint and Least Restrictive Practice Policy
Answer 7 quick questions, about three minutes, and we'll write this policy for your service, in your name, with your people. You can skip anything and add it later.
Asked once, reused for every policy you buy
That's everything we need
0 of 7 answered. You can add the rest at any point before we write it.
- Registered company name
- Trading name (if different)
- Service address
- CQC provider ID
- CQC location ID
- Registered manager
- Nominated individual
Your answers are saved on this device and carried into your order.
Built from the law, checked against the law
The legislation, CQC standards and guidance we analyse to write it.
Your Restraint and Least Restrictive Practice Policy is structured from these regulations, then verified against every required element of each one before a person signs it off. If the law changes, your policy is updated and you are told what changed and why.
Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS)
- Defines the process for identifying when a deprivation of liberty may be occurring, including assessment of whether the resident is under continuous supervision and control and not free to leave
- Requires carrying out capacity assessments to determine whether a resident lacks capacity to consent to their care arrangements
- Establishes procedures for applying for DoLS authorisation from the relevant supervisory body when a deprivation of liberty is identified
- Requires maintaining a restrictions audit document listing all actual restrictions applied to each resident (door codes, bedrails, sensor mats, lap belts, covert medication, supervised visits, prevention from leaving)
- Requires recording the resident's wishes and feelings contemporaneously and repeatedly to assess whether they positively accept or acquiesce to the arrangements
- Establishes procedures for implementing care in line with any conditions attached to a DoLS authorisation
Human Rights Act 1998
- States that residents whose placements are arranged or paid for by the local authority can bring direct claims against the care home under the Human Rights Act pursuant to section 73 of the Care Act
- Requires that any visiting restriction imposed due to an outbreak or other reason must be justified individually for each affected resident, not applied blanketly, with documented assessment of lawfulness, legitimate aim and proportionality for each person
- Prohibits the application of DNACPR decisions based solely on age or care home residency, requiring instead that each DNACPR be a documented clinical decision made specifically about the individual resident
- Requires that before any camera or surveillance equipment is installed in a resident's room, a proportionality analysis and a data protection impact assessment must be completed and documented, addressing the Article 8 rights of the resident, visitors and staff
- Requires that any decision to serve notice or terminate a placement for a resident whose dementia produces challenging behaviour must be documented as an interference with the resident's home under Article 8, assessed for proportionality, and considered as potential discrimination arising from disability under section 15 Equality Act
- Requires that any control or restriction on a resident's money be documented with reference to Article 1 Protocol 1 rights and recorded justification
Least restrictive practice principles
- Requires individualised written assessment for each restriction applied to each resident (e.g. bedrail, keypad lock, lap belt, sensor mat, low bed, restrictive chair, medication, locked doors, money held by staff, prevented exit), naming the specific harm, likelihood of that harm, and why the restriction is proportionate for that individual resident
- Requires documented evidence that less restrictive alternatives have been actively tried and evaluated before any restrictive measure is implemented, with specific detail of what alternatives were considered and tested
- Prohibits blanket restrictions (e.g. all doors locked, all residents prevented from going out unaccompanied, all money held centrally) and require that any environmental or procedural restriction is justified individually for each resident
- Requires capacity assessment for each decision where restriction is proposed, and where resident has capacity to make the decision (even if unwise), their decision must be respected and documented
- Requires that where a resident lacks capacity, any restrictive intervention is subject to a documented best interests decision under Mental Capacity Act section 4, including the resident's wishes and feelings and consultation with people who know them
- Requires that restraint (including physical intervention, equipment, medication, environmental controls) is only used where staff reasonably believe it necessary to prevent harm to the resident, and is proportionate to the likelihood and seriousness of that harm, documented for that resident on that specific occasion
Mental Capacity Act 2005
- States that capacity is assessed decision-specific and time-specific, not once on admission or generically, and by the person making the decision
- Requires that before concluding a resident lacks capacity, all practicable steps are taken to support the decision (hearing aids, glasses, interpreter, easy-read information, appropriate time of day, quiet location, repeated attempts, trusted person present)
- Confirms that residents retain the right to make unwise decisions and that disagreement with a decision does not constitute evidence of incapacity
- Defines restraint by what is actually happening (keypads, bedrails, sensor mats, lap belts, covert medication) and require that each is lawful only if staff reasonably believe it necessary and proportionate to prevent harm
- Requires best interests decisions to be based on the individual resident's wishes, feelings, beliefs and values, with consultation of people who know them, not what is medically optimal or what the home prefers
- Requires instruction of an Independent Mental Capacity Advocate (IMCA) when there is nobody to consult and the decision is serious
Written for your service
What we ask you, so none of it is assumed.
Most policy packs are one document sold to everyone with a find and replace on the home name. Your Restraint and Least Restrictive Practice Policy is written from the legislation above and from your answers to the questions below. Where you have told us something, it says so. Where you have not, it sets out what must happen rather than claiming you already do it.
Your registered name, address, CQC numbers and who holds the key roles. About three minutes. Nothing else is asked before you buy.
Asked once in your own account and used across every policy you own, so a second policy never asks you the same thing twice.
Why it matters. A policy that claims you assess your premises annually, when you never have, is not a harmless overstatement. It is a signed statement handed to your inspector. We would rather write what you must do than guess what you already do.
How it is made
From your details to a policy you can stand behind.
The short questions above: who you are, your CQC registration, and the people this policy names.
One section per required element of the legislation, in your name, with your people.
Automated checks against every required element, then a person reads it before it ships.
When legislation changes, your policy is updated and you are told what changed and why.
Common questions
What you are actually buying.
What exactly do I receive?
A complete Restraint and Least Restrictive Practice Policy written for your organisation, in your dashboard and as a print-ready PDF on your own letterhead. It names your service, your registration details and your leads, because you gave us them.
Is this a template?
No. Each policy is written for the organisation buying it, structured from the legislation itself, verified against 48 required regulatory elements, and read by a person before it carries your name.
How quickly will I get it?
Within 2 working days of you completing the short questions above. Most arrive sooner.
What happens when the law changes?
We monitor UK care legislation continuously. When something affecting this policy changes, your copy is updated and you are told what changed and why. The first year of updates is included, then £12 a year per policy.
Can I edit the policy myself?
No, and deliberately so: we stand behind every word we approve. If something needs changing, tell us and we amend and re-verify it, so it always remains a document we can both defend to an inspector.
What if I need more than one policy?
Most services do. The Statutory Starter Pack covers the twenty policies every CQC-registered service is expected to hold, and the Complete Policy Library covers all 66.
Why CareStream
Policies written the way an inspector expects to read them.
Before you buy
What the document actually looks like.
Every section it contains, and a page of the real thing. We show the structure and the personalisation rather than the wording, because the wording is what you are paying us to write for your service.
Contents of your Restraint and Least Restrictive Practice Policy
- Purpose and scopewho it covers
- Legal and regulatory frameworkcited in full
- Definitions used in this policy
- Roles and responsibilitiesyour people, named
- Procedure, step by step
- Recording, reporting and escalation
- Training and competency
- Monitoring, audit and review
- Related policies and documents
- Version control and approvalsigned and dated
Section 4 · Roles and responsibilities
Who is accountable, by name
Overall accountability for this policy rests with your registered manager, supported by your nominated individual. Day to day responsibility sits with your named lead, who is the first point of contact for staff at your service address.
The remaining wording is written for the organisation buying it, so it is not shown here.
“The inspector asked for evidence and I had it on screen before she finished the sentence.”
Registered Manager · 48-bed nursing home, West SussexRelated policies
More policies your service may need.
More statutory and operational policies CareStream writes for your service, personalised, human-reviewed and kept updated, exactly like this one.
Medicines Management Policy
Ordering, storage, administration, recording and disposal of medicines, including errors and self-administration.
Mental Capacity and DoLS Policy
Capacity assessment, best-interests decisions and deprivation of liberty safeguards under the MCA 2005.
Infection Prevention and Control Policy
IPC arrangements aligned to the Code of Practice, including audit and cleaning schedules.
Consent to Care and Treatment Policy
Seeking, recording and reviewing consent, including where capacity fluctuates.
Controlled Drugs Policy
Receipt, storage, administration, recording and destruction of controlled drugs.
Care Planning Policy
Person-centred assessment, planning, review and involvement under Regulations 9 and 12.
Compared
The four ways care services get a policy.
We have compared what each approach does rather than naming competitors, because products change and the comparison should still be true next year.
| CareStream | A policy pack | A consultant | A free template | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Questions asked at the point of purchase, so it is personalised rather than blank | ||||
| Written for your service, naming your manager and your leads | ||||
| Structured from the regulations, every required element checked before it is sent | ||||
| A branded companion document setting out the law it was written against | ||||
| Read and approved by a person before it carries your name | ||||
| Prints on your own letterhead with a sign-off and version block | ||||
| Named role holders update everywhere when the person changes | ||||
| Kept current when the law changes, and you are told what changed | ||||
| Turnaround stated before you buy | ||||
| Your staff can ask it questions in their own language | ||||
| What it costs | £39 to £79 per policy, one-off | £250 to £995 for the pack | A day rate, typically £400 upwards | Nothing |
Prices are the published rates of the common alternatives as at September 2026, for comparison only.
Training
Owning the policy is half of it
An inspector asks whether your staff understood it, not whether you hold it. Ninety eight modules written and kept current by us, to the same regulations, from £25.99 per staff member with no subscription.
