Bed Positioning - Restraints

[Eve Wilson]

Q. I've just got a question about resident's bed being against wall. I am not too sure what the "policy" or guidelines are in Aged Care for this particular issue, in terms of whether this is allowed or whether it is something the agency or accreditors assess when they assess the facility.

The manager at my site is a bit concerned about this because she has 4 residents' bed positioned against wall and all 4 residents prefers to have their bed against wall. Is this regarded as a restraint?

A. The issue of beds against walls is a simple one, but one staff get confused by.

Beds are usually placed against the wall for a number of reasons - falls risk, reduced clutter and to create space, or sometimes the room is too small for anything else. Or as in this case the resident requests it.

Regarding restraints, it is only a restraint if it stops someone doing something they normally do. So if the bed is against the wall but the resident can get out the other side of the bed with no problem then it is not a restraint. It is the same if a resident is a lifting machine and could never get out by themselves then it is not a restraint as you are not stopping them doing something they would normally do.

The concern was created when an accreditor questioned having a bed against the wall as a restraint a couple years ago and it spread through the industry as facilities want to comply.

Instead of writing of restraint paperwork for a bed against the wall, what the manager should do (and is common among other companies) is to document that it is the residents or families/NoKs choice to have the bed against the wall. This could be done through a respecting residents choice form.