I’ve been working in a nursing home for almost a year now, I’m an Aide. There was a resident at the common area that wasn’t on my care, the patient is confused and keeps going up and down on his chair, he is very unstable. There was no one at the nurse station, his alarm kept going off and I was taking care of another resident so I came out of the room and trapped him around with my gait belt so he doesn’t fall. The nurse came, took the gait belt off and is acusing me of restraining a resident. What can I do in that case? What will happen to me?
Is the nurse who finally responded going to report you?
It's very unfair that you were placed in that position and then made to feel at fault for doing your best.
Obey the policies of the facility where you work, for the sake of your career and for the good your compassion can do for the residents. But I agree with you that the pendulum on restraints has swung way too far in the other direction.
With dementia, my mother did not understand/remember that she could not stand up. It took two aides with a lift to move her from the bed to a wheelchair. What if she tried to stand up from the chair? I'm sure that would be a calamity, but no restraints such as a seat belt could be used. We asked if she could get a tray for the wheelchair so she could do her beloved crossword puzzles. Because the tray can be opened by the person in the chair apparently the tray is not considered a restraint. But Mom would never think how to swing the tray aside and so it was effective in keeping her from falling out. Thank goodness!