/p>The Spanish Confederation of Organizations for the Elderly (CEOMA) has accredited as a center «free from restraints” to residence Sanitas Residencial El Escorialin Madrid, a center that has completely eliminated the use of restraints in the care of the elderly.
Lhe external accreditation carried out by CEOMA is a key differential value within the project “For a residence without restraints” With which Sanitas Mayores has been a pioneer in the implementation of a model without fasteners.
In the words of Carmen Garcia Vegamember of the Executive Committee of CEOMA, «CEOMA has been a pioneer in Spain in the Elimination of restraints for fifteen years with the program ‘Untie the Elderly and the Alzheimer’s Patient’. The elimination of physical and pharmacological restraints are achieved not only by a good qualification and competence of professionals but by a special sensitization and training of them».
He use of restraints in Sanitas Mayores has been reduced to 1%, compared to 12% around which the Spanish average is located. Currently, 87% of the Sanitas Mayores network it has already been accredited by as clamp-free centers.
Until recently, the use of restraints, both physical and pharmacological, has been normalized in the care of certain pathologies, especially for avoid the risk of falls. However, it has been shown that the harm is greater than the benefits derived from its use. In fact, removing restraints does not increase the risk of fall injuries and yet improves the medical and psychological situationjust as it is extracted investigation made by the Maria Wolff Foundation and Sanitas Mayores among 7,657 elderly people in their residences.
“There is a slight, non-significant increase in falls after removing restraints, but falls with consequences decrease. The benefits, however, are multiple. one is given lower incidence of osteoporosis and better maintenance of muscle mass. In addition, residents report less aches and pains and are happier and calmerwhich means an improvement in the general environment of the centers”says the doctor Pedro Cano, Director of Medical Innovation at Sanitas Mayores.
Dr. Cano emphasizes the role of training in the process, “We have thrown ourselves into the project with the conviction that eliminating restraint methods is the only way to offer the best possible care. For this we have made a great effort in the training of our professionals and in the personalized monitoring of each resident. A process where the involvement of the team and families has been key”. To achieve the objectives of the Sanitas Mayores care program for people with dementia, more than 60,000 hours of training in this field have been given to 7,395 professionals.
The management model is characterized by a specialized and personalized attention based on knowledge of each resident’s individual circumstances. Along these lines, the accredited centers offer specialized care for people with Alzheimer’s or other dementias, backed by the experience with more than 3,000 people with this pathology that Sanitas Mayores attends every year in Spain.