Restraints Essay

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Risks and Alternatives of Restraints in Health Care Facilities
Restraints limit a patient’s movement. This brings up many ethical debates and issues. There are certain guidelines that should be followed when it comes to using restraints. It is important to know the different kinds of restraints, how to apply a physical restraint properly and how to administer a chemical restraint safely. It is important to consider alternatives as the use of restraints can present risk and negative outcomes.
History of Restraints Restraints were incorporated into health care many decades ago. “In the late 1970s, more than 25% of U.S residents in long-term care facilities were restrained compared to a current average of 5%” (Taylor, Lillis, Lynn, 2015, p. …show more content…

The three categories are physical, chemical, and seclusion. According to Springer (2015), a physical restraint is a device that keeps the patient from moving freely or from the patient harming themselves or other people nearby. Chemical restraints are drugs that are administered that do the same thing a physical restraint does. Seclusion is where a patient is placed in a room by themselves involuntarily and they are not allowed to leave (Springer, …show more content…

“Physical restraints increase the possibility of serious injury due to a fall” (Taylor et al. 2015, p. 707). The patient is also at risk for “skin breakdown, contractures, incontinence, depression, delirium, anxiety, aspiration, respiratory difficulties, and even death” (Taylor et al. 2015, p. 707). “In 1998, The Joint Commission issued a sentinel event alert on preventing restraint deaths, which identified the following risks: placing a restrained patient in a supine position could increase aspiration risk or placing a restrained patient in a prone position could increase suffocation risk” (Springer, 2015, para. 9). In order to reduce these risks the restraint must be applied properly and assess the patient

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