Right now someone is being restrained
- Sandra Outlook
- Jan 21
- 1 min read
Right now someone is being restrained unlawfully. It may be Joe who has autism and who has become dysregulated by his housemate getting excited about Christmas. Joe's support worker is a bit pissed off that he has to work on Christmas Day and has used restraint as the first not the last resort to deal with Joe "kicking off again". Joe will spend the next 45 mins having quiet time (aka seclusion) until he calms down.
Or it could be Beryl, Beryl has vascular dementia and Beryl tried to leave her care home to get presents ready for her kids. A nurse and a care worker took hold of Beryl by the arms and walked her to the lounge, they put her in an armchair and set a table in front of it, to make it look better they placed a glass of squash on the table. If Beryl does not calm down the nurse will administer some diazepam, which will quiet her.
Are you shocked? You should be. Restraint is all around us; it goes on without us thinking about it. It may be necessary and proportionate, but in many cases, it is neither of these.
That's why I created this resource, the most important part of which is the self assessment for staff.
Let's make 2025 a year of reducing restrictive practices.
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