Physical Restraints

A few weeks ago I went to a long-term care facility to investigate a case. While walking down the hall I heard a woman weakly yell, “Help me! Help me!” Staff members were walking up and down the hall but didn’t stop to help the woman. I poked my head into her room to see what the problem was. There on the bed was a white haired elderly woman crunched up against her bed rail unable to move. Through her whimpers she explained she had been sleeping and somehow rolled over and couldn’t move. Her call light was out of her reach. I explained that I could not move her, but would push her call light and go find someone to help. After I promised I would be right back, I went out into the hall to find someone, but was unable to. Finally, I found a Social Worker who immediately jumped into action to meet the needs of this resident.

It is still upsetting to me when I think about this woman: scared, hurt, and ignored. She had been physically restrained and the results could have been disastrous had she waited much longer.

In recent years, the health care community has recognized that physically restraining residents can be dangerous. There are benefits of bed rails which include: aiding in turning, providing a hand-hold for getting in or out of bed, and a feeling of comfort and security. However, there are many potential risks of bed rails that include: strangulation, suffocation, bodily injury or death when residents are caught between rails or between the rails and bed. There are increased incidences of bruising, cuts and scrapes as well as serious injuries resulting from falls when residents climb over the rails. Bed rails also contribute to the resident feeling isolated or unnecessarily restricted and they prevent residents, who are able to get out of bed, from performing routine activities such as going to the bathroom.

Fortunately, the potentially disastrous situation with the white haired elderly woman was diverted. The next day I had a meeting with the facility to discuss the situation with administration. Since the incident, the resident no longer is using a bed rail and the long-term care facility is making more of an effort to listen for their residents and answer their call lights in a timely manner.