Colorado Senate advances bill to ban "prone restraint" techniques

[The Straight Story]

Colorado Senate advances bill to ban "prone restraint" techniques

A bill banning the use of face-down restraint techniques by state employees passed a second reading on the Senate floor Friday.

The use of so-called "prone restraint" has led to several "needless, inhumane deaths" in recent years, said Sen. Suzanne Williams, D-Aurora, the sponsor of Senate Bill 49. Prone restraint drew fire for the death of a patient at Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo last year. Troy Geske suffocated after he was laid on his face and had his hands and feet tied behind his back.

SB 49 also bans any state employee from using a mechanical prone restraint and prevents the use of prone restraint on mentally handicapped people receiving care.

The bill does not ban the temporary use of face-down techniques by police and other safety officials to restrain violent individuals.


http://www.denverpost.com/legislature/ci_17486769

[Maine_Nurse]

1. Wow, didn't realize places still did that. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

This has been known to be a very dangerous and sometimes deadly technique for a very long time now. Their state facility obviously hasn't subscribed to regulatory guidance from JC, CMS, or NASMHPD.

[old mark]

2. K&R- This is banned here in PA for some time now. We had a patient who was

mostly out of control and extremely large and strong...he came to our hospital in chains and accompanied by 2 State Troopers from the previous state where he was hospitalized. He decompensated to the point where he was housed in his own separate ward for several months untill arrangements were maded to send him to another PA state hospital with a forensic unit. He was there for a few weeks when he died after being placed in a floor hold-he had attacked several other patients and the staff was trying to get him away from them.

It is a difficult problem-legislators make the rules governing conduct of staff and hospitals, but injuries suffered in running mental hospitals are always blamed on the staff...who are frequently the injured ones. I know several people who are permanently disabled because of attacks by patients. It is at times very difficult to balance rights and safety and of course the legislators take politics into consideration as well...


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