Ligature Training
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Mental health is a very serious topic. Deteriorating Mental Health can manifest itself in many different ways withdrawal and quietness, to anxiety and depression and, unfortunately, suicide. In 2021, according to the Office of National Statistics, there were nearly 5,600 registered suicides of which 3,852 were male and 1,367 were female. Of those registered suicides, 61% of males and 50% of females ended their lives by hanging, strangulation or suffocation. This is a marked increase since 2001 when 44% of male and 27% of female suicides were by hanging, strangulation or suffocation. This is why it is extremely important that anyone who works with vulnerable people or in an environment where incidents involving a ligature is a foreseeable event, is trained to remove them quickly and safely.
Table of contents
What is a Ligature?
The basic definition of a ligature is something that is used for tying or binding something tightly. This can be anything from rope, to shoelaces, to a neck tie, a wire, belts or even towels. Pretty much anything that can be tied tightly can be used and the human mind will always find other materials that can be used.
Who should have ligature removal training?
Ligature training should be seen as important for anyone who:
- works within the prison or probations services
- works in refuges, mental health or crisis intervention sectors
- works with young people in residential care & referral schools
- is a foster carer
- works in other higher-risk environments
- supports people with complex needs and who may have issues such as physical and mental health, child welfare, family and relationship breakdown, offending behaviour, historic abuse, bereavement, substance misuse, sexual exploitation, domestic violence, childhood trauma and/or self-harm.
What is Ligature training?
More properly referred to as “ligature response” or “ligature removal” training, it is a training program designed to give anyone who might be exposed to a ligature incident the skills necessary to deal with the situation.
At Chris Garland Training we offer 3 courses around dealing with Ligature incidents. These are our 4 hour Ligature training course, our Ligature Training and Annual skills update for first aiders course and the QNUK Level 3 Award in responding to Ligature Incidents.
Each of these courses provide you with the knowledge and practical skills required to safely deal with an incident. Skills covered include getting the casualty down to the ground, removal of the ligature & provision of basic life support, including manual spinal immobilisation, CPR and the use of an AED. You’ll also learn how to identify the more subtle injuries caused by attempted ligature incidents, allowing you to put in place safeguarding measures.
If you are unsure of which course is best for you, please take a look at our comparison table, which gives a summary of the content of each course. If you have any questions, though, please do contact us and we would be pleased to answer any queries you might have.
