Psychiatric Patients and Mechanical Restraints

Mechanical restraints are one of the most controversial aspects of psychiatric care. The aversion to using them no doubt dates back to the popularity of films like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which portrays the psychiatric institutions and medical authorities using restraints to constrain the free spirits of sane, but noncompliant patients. The reality of the use of restraints is far more complex and some defend the use of these devices to promote patient safety. According to the review article "Mechanical restraint -- which interventions prevent episodes of mechanical restraint? -- A systematic review" by Bak (2011), "in some countries, mechanical restraint is performed according to the law when psychiatric inpatients pose a risk to themselves or to others." But other countries do not allow the use of mechanical restraints: for example, in the United Kingdom, only the use of seclusion and holding (physical...
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