Are bed rails a restraint in care home settings?

#carehomes #cqc #britishstandard #oxforduniversitypress - In care home settings today there is a live and ongoing debate about the use of bed rails and its effectiveness in preventing falls. Bed rails are marketed as safety devices to reduce patients' risk of falling from bed but are they simply restraints? - Some would argue that they restrict a person’s liberty however, for people with dementia living in  in care homes, the freedom of movement debate is unlikely to be uppermost in their minds or those of their relatives.

In an article on bed rails published by Oxford University Press for the British Geriatrics Society, it concludes "Careful evaluation of the empirical evidence on the use and non-use of bed rails does not lend adequate support to the widely held and powerful views that bed rails are inherently harmful".

The use of bed rails is not harmful but it is how carers position the rails in relation to the mattress that may be an issue. If the gap between the bed rail and the mattress platform is too wide, it could lead to a person's entrapment under the rail which could result to asphyxiation.

The British Standard BS EN 60601-2-52:2010 states that the gap from any accessible opening between the bottom of the side rail and the mattress platform should be no more than 60 mm. When assessing this gap, it should be taken into consideration whether mattresses are thin, easily compressible at the edge and whether the individual’s dimensions increase the risk of slipping underneath the rails. Mattresses should always fit snugly, with no significant gap, between both bed rails.

For more information on how to purchase the complete policy 'Safe use of bed rails' and over 100 up-to-date care policies designed to meet the demands of the new Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection regime. Lets go to cqc-ratings.org.uk

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Blog written by Ken Uwotu, Email - ken.uwotu@cqc-ratings.org.uk