to the following activities:
Preventing patients from leaving the ward,
Returning patients to the ward,
Searching patients and/or their personal valuables,
Assisting in more serious restriction measures requiring close
body contact,
Restraint of patients and supervision of patients,
Supervision during administration of medication and
Assistance in other care procedures (escorting patients to the
toilet, shower, etc.).
Federal legislators have made appropriate provisions that psychiatric
patients may only be cared for by persons who have received training
for this very demanding work in accordance with statutory
requirements. A job description for psychiatric caregivers has been
established and strict training requirements have been stipulated. The
special training for psychiatric health and nursing care takes one year
and comprises 1,600 hours of theoretical and practical training. Apart
from the fact that the Health Care and Nursing Act explicitly stipulates
that health care professions are not subject to the Austrian Industrial
Code (Gewerbeordnung), under Section 129 (1) of the Austrian
Industrial Code, there is not even approximately equivalent
qualification for the private security industry that is regulated by law
and that refers to the needs of patients in medical institutions and
facilities. Discussions by Commission 2 in a hospital in Upper Austria
revealed that the training for security personnel about methods of
restraint offered by the hospital itself was extremely inadequate. This
was showcased by the example of a security employee, who stated to
the commission that he had only received a one-time two-day briefing
and considered himself competent to intervene in acute situations only
based on his training as a guard in the Austrian Army, which had
taken place decades ago.
Care only by staff with
training in health care
occupations
After dealing with the topic in detail, the Human Rights Advisory
Council found in April 2014 that, against the backdrop of the
occupational law for health care professions and specifically the right
of patients to respectful and considerate treatment and care, only staff
that has received medical and/or nursing training may be used for
nursing and care measures. Therefore, in Austria, the use of private
security companies’ services within the scope of treatment of patients,
specifically, but not exclusively patients in psychiatric wards, has no
legal basis whatsoever.
Recommendation by the
Human Rights Advisory
Council
45
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