Restraint and Seclusion in Healthcare

This essay examines the use of restraint and seclusion in healthcare, exploring both its historical context and contemporary controversies. It differentiates between physical and mechanical restraint, detailing the practices involved and their potential negative impacts on patients, including physical harm and psychological distress. While acknowledging the potential benefits in managing acutely agitated or violent patients, the essay emphasizes the ethical concerns and legal ramifications associated with these methods. The author advocates for a balanced approach, suggesting that restraint and seclusion should be used only as a last resort, under strict guidelines, and with a focus on patient safety and dignity. The essay also highlights the importance of staff training, clear protocols, and administrative oversight to minimize the risks and ensure ethical and responsible use of these interventions. Finally, it underscores the need for ongoing evaluation and improvement of practices to protect patient well-being and uphold professional standards.

RESTRAINING AND SECLUSION

Restrain and seclusion is the one of the strategy that was used in old days to treat patients. In the
current time period movement is running on under which it is emphasized that nurses and other
one who uses restrain and seclusion practices at the workplace must stop doing so. This is
because it is fundamental right of every individual that same must be treated with full dignity and
respect to great extent. Usually in the mentioned practice an individual is treated badly by the
doctors or nurses or any other entity (APNA Position on the Use of Seclusion and Restraint,
2017(. This lead to death of the patient or mental disturbance of same. Many times mishap event
takes place and due to this reason one heavily affected. It can be said that restraint and seclusion
is the one of the main strategy that heavily affect an individual person.
There are varied sort of restraints that are observed in all nations of the world like
physical restraint and mechanical restraint. Physical restraint refers to the situation where one is
personally restricted and relevant person cannot move freely from one place to another. Under
physical restraint one cannot move its body parts like neck, face and legs as well as hands etc.
This is the normal practice in the physical restraint (Huckshorn and LeBel, 2015). There are
many advanced methods that are adopted under physical restraint. In this regard patient is hold in
such a manner due to which its arms immobilized. One is pinned against the wall. It can be said
that under the physical restraint one is highly tortured. It must be noted that under physical
restraint simply arms and hands are not hold for guiding someone (De Hert and et.al., 2011). It
can be said that under physical restraint one is brutally treated.
Mechanical restraint is another method that is used treat patients in the hospital. Under
this, devices or equipment’s are used to treat the patient at the workplace. Under this method an
individual is seating on chair and its legs and hands are strapped tightly. It can be said that
mechanical restraint one cannot leave its place and feel tortured. All these things heavily affect
the individual brain and sometimes lead to death of the individual (Villani and et.al., 2012). This
is the reason due to which physical and mechanical restraints are banned in many nations of the
world.
Seclusion is another approach that is used to treat the patients that are suffered from the
mental disease. It can be observed that it is very difficult task to treat patients that are suffered
from mental disease in proper manner. Thus, in order to tackle the situation patient is treated
badly by the doctor or nurses. Due to this reason one died or become injured and mental
condition become unbalanced. It can be said that seclusion is the one of the approach that

sometimes seems inappropriate and due to this reason some courts give verdict against the use of
restraint and seclusion.
However, there are multiple negative points of the restraint and seclusion, there are some
positive sides of these methods. It can be observed that it is not an easy task to handle the patient
that is suffered from the mental disease. This is because an individual cognitive power is weak
and same cannot differentiate between right and wrong. Thus, in every situation it is very
important to handle the patient. It is not possible to make mental patient understand about the
situation (Steinert and et.al., 2010). Thus, it become important to restrain or seclusion the patient
so that its behavior can be controlled. From this point of view it can be said that courts must not
banned these practices because there is great use of both approaches for the doctors and nurses to
handle the mental patient.
There is a need to issue certain guidelines from court side in respect to use of mentioned
methods because same are effective and help nurses in handling the patients in hospital. But
excessive use of these approaches lead to death of an individuals. It can be said that it is very
important and necessity to use both approaches but same must be performed in the systematic
way because by doing so it can be ensured that patient is treated in systematic way and handle in
proper manner (La Vonne, Zun and Gonzales, 2007). Thus, it can be said that there is huge
importance of the above mentioned approaches for the nurses.
It is very important for them to follow right approach under restraint and seclusion.
Under this nurses must assume their responsibility to treat patient in the systematic way. They
must assume that there is a dignity and self-respect of an individual and due to this reason same
must be treated as human being by the nurses. While giving treatment to the patient it must be
ensured that same is not heavily tortured and by giving light treatment behavior of same is
improved (Palazzolo and et.al., 2000). Nurses must ensure that they are not using restraint and
seclusion for coercing any patient to do something. This is because there may be negative
consequence of doing same thing on the patient mental brain and condition may become more
severe and probability of elimination of disease from human body can be removed (Scanlan,
2010). The purpose of use of restraint and seclusion must be changed. In this regard it must be
ensured that both methods are used minimum number of times and must be used when it is
necessary to use them to handle the patient. Secondly, nurses must ensure that they are using
such kind of practices only to make certain that individual will not harm himself and others from

anything. By following this positive attitude patients can be treated in legitimate way by using
restrain and seclusion method.
Nurses must give maximum freedom of movement to the patient and must make certain
that physical safety of individual and other person is secured. If patient will be allowed for the
maximum freedom then in that case same will not feel tortured and its brain will not be affected
negatively. It can be said that there is great importance of the restraint and seclusion for the
nurses and good results can be obtained by them if same will be used in the systematic way
(Raboch and et.al., 2010). Nurses must ensure that they are taking prevention measures while
treating patient with restraint methods. This is because it is possible that one take steps to handle
the patient but due to mistake in efforts latter entity get injured. It can be said that unintentionally
patient can be badly treated by the nurse. In order to ensure that same thing will not happened in
the upcoming time period preventive actions can be taken by the nurses and by doing so it can be
ascertained that treatment will not severely affect the mental state (Mcloughlin. and Geller,
2006).
Nurses can carry out detail discussion with their colleagues and by doing so appropriate
step that can be followed for treating a patient can be determined. Number of useful suggestions
can be received from the colleagues and by working on same in the systematic manner patients
can be treated in proper manner.
This strategy to some extent help client to recover from the disease. This is because when
any patient is heavily tortured then in that case one physically and mentally face adverse changes
in the body and instead of elimination of disease enhancement in same is observed in the human
body (Larue and et.al., 2009). Thus, it can be said that there is not significant benefits of the
physical restraint for the patients that are suffered from the mental problem. The only single
benefit of this strategy is that it can be used as last option by the nurses for treatment of patients.
Sometimes it is very difficult task to handle patients in the proper manner that are suffered from
the mental problem. In such situation when all measures become failed restraint is the only
option that can be used to treat patient and to handle them in the proper manner (Recupero and
et.al., 2010). If same can be used in proper manner the in that case it is possible to treat patients
in proper manner. This is because when patient become out of control brain is heavily affected
and due to this reason chances of recovery of patient from the disease reduced substantially. In
that situation it is the restraint and seclusion that are used and prove helpful. By using these

methods behavior of the patient is controlled and it is ensured that same will be calm and nerves
of the brain will not be affected negatively. By giving such kind of hardcore treatment damage to
the brain of an individual can be reduced to great extent and in this way situation can be
controlled.
Apart from the nurses hospital administration can taker number of steps at its own level
and under this they can prepare a strict rules and regulations that can be followed for treating
mental patient in the hospital (Brooker. and et.al., 2014). This is necessary to do because it is not
necessary that nurses will always take appropriate action to handle the patients. There may be
few nurses that can assume their ethical and professional responsibility and by following same
but all nurses cannot follow ethics and there is high probability that patient will not be treated
properly (Hendryx and et.al., 2010). Thus, it can be said that it is the governing body and rules as
well as regulations that will ensure that all patients will be treated in proper manner with full
dignity. In this regard a panel of the Directors must be prepared separately and they must review
entire procedure and way in which patients are treated. They must identify all weak and strong
points and accordingly must develop an approach that must be followed to treat patients in
systematic manner. By doing so it can be ensured that right approach will be followed to treat
patients at the hospital. This will also ensure that mental wellbeing of the patients will not be
negatively affected due to restraint and seclusion (Vruwink and et.al., 2012). Apart from this,
cameras can also be installed in cells of the patients and by doing so close eye can be kept on the
movement of the patients. Moreover, activities of the nurses can also be monitored closely and
those that are not following rules and regulations tightly can be identified easily. Strict actions
can be taken again those that are not working properly and are breaching rules and regulations
regularly (Stewart and et.al., 2010). Thus, there is a significant importance of the central level of
administration for proper management at the hospital.
On the basis of above discussion it is concluded that there is significant negative impact
of the restrain and seclusion practices on the patient. This is because under these activities
individuals are tortured and same thing heavily affect the mental wellbeing of the individuals. It
is not possible for an individual to maintain stable mental state when someone is treating in non-
legitimate way (Phillips, Wilson and Wilson, 2010). It is concluded that importance of the
restrain and seclusion cannot be underestimated because this is used by the nurses as last option
to treat patients in proper manner and to handle them. But it must be ensured that relevant acts

are performed within limits and in systematic way and same is not hurting mental wellbeing of
an individual person. Thus, it can be said that there are some positive sides of the restrain and
seclusion and same must be used with due care by the firms.

REFERENCES
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Scanlan, J.N., 2010. Interventions to reduce the use of seclusion and restraint in inpatient
psychiatric settings: what we know so far a review of the literature. International Journal of
Social Psychiatry. 56(4). pp.412-423.
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Online
APNA Position on the Use of Seclusion and Restraint, 2017. [ONLINE]. Available through :<
https://www.apna.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageID=3728>. [Accessed on 25th April 2017].