[Measures restricting freedom in the geriatric psychiatry].

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Measures restricting freedom include physical restraints restricting movement and treatment without consent according to the Swiss Civil Code. Patients incapable of consenting to treatments and other measures of care and who are somatically multimorbid in addition to their mental illness are frequently encountered in the geriatric psychiatry inpatient setting. In this group of patients, physical restraints are repeatedly used to prevent falling and to quarantine patients due to infectious diseases. Frequently, treatment is conducted with the apparent agreement of the patient but which are to be recorded as measures restricting freedom due to the inability to give informed consent. The National Association for Quality Development in Hospitals and Clinics (ANQ) has introduced geriatric psychiatry as a separate department category; this differentiation should also be seen as an opportunity and invitation to take a differentiated look at measures restricting freedom in geriatric psychiatry.