Physical restraint of the elderly: petition to ban the practice that has become “banalized” exceeds 9,000 signatures
More than 9000 people have already signed a petition which defends the prohibition of physical restraint for the elderly, launched by nurse Carmen Garcia (author of “The Imperfect Mother†). The objective is to prohibit “archaic practice” of tying the upper and lower limbs of older people, “recurrent” in homes and hospitals.
âI began to realize that if it weren’t for civil society to mobilize and take this issue to the Assembly of the Republic, it would never get there,” explains Carmen Garcia to Expresso. “It has become trivialized in such a way that people stop considering what an aberration it is. It is so widespread, it is such a common practice that it no longer seems wrong to us,†she adds.
The “brutal lack of resources†in the institutions contributes to this situation, which makes adequate monitoring and monitoring difficult, and ends up being “paid for with the dignity of the elderly†. The nurse emphasizes that the practice constitutes “an attack on rights of the elderly†, safeguarded by the United Nations, and that several countries have moved to combat it, considering it mistreatment, such as the United Kingdom, Sweden or the Netherlands.
On the contrary, in Portugal there is only one “recommendation†from the Directorate-General for Health. “It is necessary to legislate for non-restraint, to ensure that a point is left for very exceptional cases and it is necessary to legislate on these too,†argues Carmen Garcia. These cases concern “very extreme situations†, in which “all other options have been exhausted†, and must involve prescription by a healthcare professional and containment devices †œapproved†. “What you see most are elderly people trapped in chairs with sheets. In addition to being abominable, it is dangerous.â€
The nurse, with long experience in the area, also says it is necessary to “train professionals†. “We need to show why this is wrong, explain to them that we are horrified, and well, when we see a dog tied with a short chain, and we are not horrified when we see an elderly man with his arms §those tied,†she portrays.
At the same time, it is “urgent†to provide organizations with “tools that allow them to provide other types of care†, from more personnel to technical and physical resources. Stay sensors that are placed under mattresses, beds that go down to the floor (called zero quota), fine motor cutting gloves and geriatric pajamas, which prevent the person from ripping off a cipher, for example, These are hypotheses of alternative means.
Whisson/Jordan
Petitions signed by more than 7500 citizens, as is the case, are considered in plenary in Parliament. The leader of the initiative has “hope†that this will “cause something to change†. “We have to look at a group within the elderly, which is the group of the most fragile elderly, and think that they too have to have an answer. Active and dignified aging cannot be limited to those who are independent.â€
