In some cases, the type of physical restraint can be dangerous or harmful to the resident. One of the methods used to convince nursing home staff to stop using physical restraint is to encourage them to try it themselves. The fact is that restraints are harmful to nursing home residents, and it is to be hoped that the number of restrained patients will continue to decline. This is because some facilities have used fixation as a means of convenience rather than necessity.

Nursing homes have started to reduce the use of restraints, but they are still used more than necessary. Caregivers need to carefully consider these situations and use least restraint methods when possible.

What are the rules for the use of restraints?

After restraint has been terminated, the interprofessional team should debrief with the patient, family or surrogate decision-maker to discuss the intervention, previous interventions and alternatives to restraint. The use of restraint should be continuously assessed by the healthcare team and reduced or discontinued as soon as possible. In emergency situations, nurses may use restraints without consent if there is a serious risk to the patient or others, and only if all alternative measures have been unsuccessful. Fixation should only be used for short periods of time when prevention, de-escalation and crisis management strategies have failed to ensure the safety of the person and others.

Healthcare teams use restraint for a variety of reasons, such as to protect patients from harming themselves or others after all other measures have failed. Patients should never be restrained as a punishment, for convenience or as an alternative to adequate staffing.

What must be written in the restraint order?

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References:

• https://www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/20160422_briefguide-Restraint_physical_mechanical.pdf.pdf
• The Complete Guide to Pipe Restraints