Nursing home in trouble over restraints

The Yangpu District Civil Affairs Bureau vowed Wednesday to take action against a local nursing home after a television news report showed that staff members there had tied up several residents with makeshift restraints.

The bureau said in a press release that it will make sure that the Shanghai Hongxing Nursing Home corrects its practices and will punish involved staff members.

The practice of restraining nursing home residents raises questions about how nursing homes deal with elderly residents suffering from debilitating mental or physical conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease.

Shanghai Television Station news reporters paid a visit to the nursing home after receiving a complaint from the daughter of a resident with Alzheimer's disease. The report showed a nursing home staff member scolding a resident for moving without permission. After the staff member returned the resident to his wheelchair, she tied him up with rope made from torn bed sheets.

Qin Yusheng, the chairman of the nursing home, said the practice was necessary because there aren't enough staff members to keep an eye on all of the residents, some of whom could hurt themselves or others if left unattended.

"Many other nursing homes use the same methods. Local authorities allow nursing homes to restrain residents. We have to sign an agreement with an elderly resident's guardian before we can employ this practice," Qin told the Global Times.

According to a standardized agreement created by the Shanghai Welfare Association, an industry association that includes nursing homes, a nursing home is allowed to restrain residents who suffer from mental illness or dementia if they are endangering themselves or others.

However, the Shanghai Hongxing Nursery Home also restrains residents who don't fit the criteria described in the agreement. Staff members restrain residents who are in danger of falling down while walking unattended and those who are undergoing medical treatment, Qin said.

At another nursing home in the city, the Huangpu District No.2 Welfare House, staff members only use restraints on patients suffering from dementia. "We adopted this practice because there have been cases where a resident with Alzheimer's disease hit or abused a staff member. There have also been cases where they have hit another resident," the employee said.

Yang Yiming, director of the Pudong New Area Elders' Nurseries Association, said that there are specially designed restraints for residents with dementia.

"The safety restraint is designed so it doesn't hurt the person being restrained, and caretakers have to follow a standard procedure to use it," Yang told the Global Times.

According to industry rules, a nursing home can only use such restraints when residents lose control of themselves.