A Report on Staff Injuries and Ambulatory Restraints: Dealing With Patient Aggression

Abstract
1. During a 6 1/2-year period on a unit designed for repetitively aggressive male patients, nursing staff members were the recipients of 95% of aggressions and 97% of serious injuries. 2. Two-point ambulatory restraints, called Preventive Aggression Devices (PADS) help liberate the patient from prolonged seclusion, but in a safe manner. 3. Patient aggression is underreported; there is a need for a standardized aggression reporting system across facilities.