Chamizo’s Crusade MENTAL HEALTH
Le ga l Ethical Battery/
Assault/
ISSUES
Restarins
and
more!!
TERMS TO BE FAMILIAR WITH!!!
Assault: Threat to a patient.
Battery: Touching a patient in a harmful or offensive way
Ethical Principles: Beneficence: doing good by the patient
Autonomy: Patient’s right to make his/ her own decisions
Justice: fair and equal treatment for all
Fidelity: loyalty and faithfulness to the patient and to one’s
duty
Veracity: honestly when dealing with a patient
Restrains: There must be an order from a provider for restraints!
Orders must be renewed and rewritten by the physician
specifying the type of restraint every 24 hours
Physician must reassess the patient before renewing restraint
order
Less restrictive measures: Verbal intervention to calm patient
down/ Diversion or redirection/ Providing a calm, quiet
environment/ Offering PRN medication( Though this is
technically a chemical restraint, medications are considered
less restrictive than a mechanical restraint)
The nurse should complete documentation every 15-30 minutes
including: Precipitating events and behavior of patient prior to
use of seclusion or restraints/ Alternative actions taken to
avoid seclusion or restraint / The time treatment began/ The
patient’s current behavior/ What foods or fluids were offered
and taken/ Vital signs/ Medication administration/ Time released
from restraints
The nurse can use seclusion or restraints without first
obtaining a provider’s written prescription if it is an
emergency situation. If this emergency treatment is
initiated, the nurse must obtain the written prescription
within a specified period of time (usually 15-30 minutes
Time limits for seclusion or retrains are based on age: Age 8
and younger: 1 hour/ Age 9-17: 2 hours/ Age 18 and older: 4
hours
False imprisonment: Confining a patient to a specific area,
such as a seclusion room
