Sir, I was interested to read the report of Akhtar and Jagawat (Journal, April 1993 ) regarding the restraint of psychiatric out-patients. While inhuman treatment of psychiatrically ill persons is to be condemned, the argument against the use of physical restraint seems at best superficial in the case of many psychotic patients. In the paper under discussion, the authors have admitted that rest...

Sir, I was interested to read the report of Akhtar and Jagawat (Journal, April 1993 ) regarding the restraint of psychiatric out-patients. While inhuman treatment of psychiatrically ill persons is to be condemned, the argument against the use of physical restraint seems at best superficial in the case of many psychotic patients. In the paper under discussion, the authors have admitted that rest...

Background: Considering the negative consequences of using physical restraints, we conducted this study to identify patients who are more frequently restrained in a psychiatric emergency ward as an initial step to limit the use of restraint to the minimum possible.   Methods: This was a retrospective case control study conducted in Iran Psychiatric Hospital in Tehran, Iran. We reviewed the f...

of restraints in mental health setups brings forth ethical issues. However, this method is being used for highly agitated and violent patients in psychiatric hospitals in order to protect the patients and others for possible physical harm. 1,2 In all circumstances, the least restrictive restraint that is effective should be used and restraints should never be used for the sake of convenience. 3...

This paper reviews the published research literature on the use of physical restraint with mentally retarded adults and children. Research on three types of restraint is included. One type involves one or more person(s) holding another. A second method is where a mechanical device is fitted to limit movement or reduce injury. The third type is where the person voluntarily applies a personal or ...

resulting from all the recent publicity about cruelty and poor standards of care in mental and mentally subnormal hospitals, I have examined in detail some apparent weaknesses which exist in relation to defined limits of physical restraint. To increase the awareness amongst staff and the public about where and when restraint is necessary, and when uncontrolled use of physical restraint evolves ...