Restraint in Residential Aged Care
This Course explores current issues surrounding the use of restraint in residential aged care settings.
Describe
Describe the ethical and legal issues surrounding decision-making associated with the use of restraint in residential aged careExamine
Examine the causes of challenging behaviours in residential aged careExplain
Explain strategies that can be implemented as alternatives to restraintEducator
Darren Wake
Peripatetic and always intellectually restless, Darren Wake has pursued varied careers in journalism, media production, academic philosophy and nursing. As a nurse, he worked in the speciality areas of critical care, community care, remote area healthcare and education. As a formally qualified academic philosopher Darren taught undergraduate units in law and ethics in healthcare, although his principle research focus revolved around logic and the philosophy of language. Darren’s media production output can be found scattered about the Ausmed website and in his long forgotten days as a word monkey, he wrote for European publications such as The Scotsman, The Great Outdoors, Country Walking and The Times. In 2014 Darren consulted to the Department of Health for the development of Consumer Directed Care policy and guidelines for remote area communities in the Northern Territory. These days he is the managing editor of a small independent publishing company based in the United Kingdom, and lives in Tasmania. In his spare time, Darren is currently studying a formal course in celestial navigation, just in case the inevitable zombie apocalypse messes with the world’s GPS satellite system.
Comments
Course Overview
Topics include:
- Ethical and legal issues associated with the use of restraint
- Challenging behaviours in residential aged care
- Alternatives to the use of restraint
Target audience
All healthcare professionals caring for older people, particularly those who work in residential aged care settings.
Purpose
To support decision-making by nurses working in residential aged care settings in relation to the provision of safe, quality care and the use of restraints.
Need
The use of various forms of restraint is still common in residential aged care facilities and its use remains controversial. There are associated risks and the Australian Society of Geriatric Medicine suggests that up to one in every thousand deaths in residential care may be related to the inappropriate use of restraint. However, there are more beneficent alternatives, with aged care staff not always being educated on what these are, and how they may be implemented, or on what ethical and legal implications are associated with the use of restraint.
Health professionals in Australia that are registered with AHPRA are required to obtain continuing professional development (CPD) hours/points each year that relates to their context of practice, in order to comply with mandatory regulatory requirements.
