Terms and definitions

The Mental Health Act 2014 defines seclusion as ‘the sole confinement of a person at any hour of the day or night in a room of which the doors and windows are locked from the outside’. All seclusion events must meet legal and clinical requirements. 

The process by which an episode of care for an admitted patient ceases (e.g. patient is discharged).

Surgery to straighten the nasal septum.

Hospital wards for patients who are likely to be discharged within 24 hours.

Hospital wards that are specially equipped to care for babies.

A common bacterium that lives on the skin or in the nose and is most often harmless. Can cause mild and/or serious infections if it enters the body through a cut in the skin.