Reference no: EM133579116

Problem

Helen has dementia and has come into the rehabilitation facility after a bad fall at home, which resulted in a hip fracture that involved a long hospital admission with complications. She is frail, very weak, and unsteady. She is meant to be using a frame to walk. Helen forgets about the frame and, whenever she wants to go to the bathroom, she gets up impulsively and tries to rush unaided. She has had two near miss falls in the facility. Nursing staff decide to put her in a recliner chair, which Helen cannot get out of. The chair is very comfortable, but Helen is clearly distressed that she cannot get out. You are the new enrolled nurse at the facility, and you are very concerned about what you are seeing and hearing about the management of people with dementia.

Question I. What is your ethical and legal dilemma?

Question II. What will your actions be, who will you report to and, where will you document your concerns?

Question III. Restraint can be either physical, chemical, environmental, mechanical or seclusion. What type of restraint is being used with Helen?

Question IV. List one example for each of the above types of restraint - physical, chemical, environmental, mechanical or seclusion.

Question V. How should management address this practice (restraint) and what might be the consequences for the nursing staff who ordered the use of the reclining chair?

Question VI. What human rights have been violated in this case?