National Preventive Mechanism The CPT standards stipulate that when restraining a patient, attention should be made to ensure that they do not feel humiliated and that this feeling should not be exacerbated by the way in which the restraint is applied. Compliance with these human rights standards is still not always guaranteed in psychiatric medical facilities and wards. Restraints in beds in hallways In a psychiatric ward of Hall Regional Hospital, for example, Commission 1 observed that restraints are not carried out in a suitable environment but in the hallways of the locked area of the psychiatric ward. Restraining patients in beds in hallways is not acceptable on human rights grounds, since the privacy and personal space of those affected cannot be safeguarded. Other patients can be frightened and traumatised by witnessing coercive measures. One-point restraint as life-threatening measure Furthermore, Commission 1 strongly emphasised that the exclusive use of an abdominal restraint (one-point restraint) must be rejected due to the risk of strangulation. The restraint manufacturer also points this out and recommends the application of a five-point restraint in general. As operators of Hall Regional Hospital, the Tyrol clinics reacted to this criticism by admitting that the relevant psychiatric ward no longer complies with modern requirements in terms of room partitioning and functionality; the last time the ward was renovated was about 20 years ago. This is why the sanitary fittings in the ward are no longer up-to-date. Within the framework of a structural redesign a new concept should thus be drawn up to avoid caring for patients in beds in hallways. Furthermore, it was agreed to ban measures by means of abdominal restraint and to forbid the same in the ward in general. The measures that restrict freedom which have been carried out should also be statistically analysed and evaluated in order to improve the care situation in particular. XX Measures that restrict freedom must be carried out in a suitable environment and may, on no account, be carried out in the hallway or where they can be seen by other patients. XX One-point restraints must be stopped due to the risk of strangulation. 130

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