Is it time for a formal disciplinary code for psychiatric in-patients in England and Wales?

Within psychiatric hospitals it is not legal for staff to formally punish a patient for any misdemeanour. The staff response to such an incident is cloaked in therapeutic terms even if it is in effect a disciplinary punishment. To avoid injustice and introduce safeguards into this process Professor Genevra Richardson (1993, 1995) suggests the need for the introduction of a disciplinary code for psychiatric in-patients. This paper discusses the need for better guidance for psychiatric staff and the problems of punitive sanctions on patients.