Research groups such as Kyorin University have announced the results of an analysis that the implementation rate per capita of Japan for "physical restraint" that fixes the limbs of patients exceeds 260 times that of the United States.
According to the expert who conducted the survey, "there are more than any other country, and it is necessary to change to an environment where people can live in the area."
The survey was conducted by Professor Toshio Hasegawa of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Kyorin University in collaboration with researchers in the United States and Australia, and was published last month in the British medical journal "Epidemiology and Psychiatric Science."
An analysis of the physical restraints performed at psychiatric hospitals in each country in 2017 based on published data shows that 98.8 people per million people are physically restrained each day in Japan.
Comparing the rate of physical restraints with other countries, it is 266 times that of the United States, which was 0.371 per million, and 599 times that of Australia, which is 0.165.
Professor Hasegawa, who conducted the survey, said that physical restraints in Japan were "overwhelmingly more than in other countries" and "because of the historical background, they are operated by fewer medical staff than general medical care. The fact that there are many hospitals has an effect. It is necessary to change to an environment where people can live with support in the community without going to the hospital. "
The actual situation of physical restraint
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare shall carry out "physical restraint" for the purpose of preventing self-harm of patients, while "it must be unavoidable until an alternative method is found and try to switch to another method as soon as possible. It must not be done "by law.
According to the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, the number of patients who were physically restrained at psychiatric hospitals in Japan was 11,362 as of June 2018, more than doubling in 15 years.
Under these circumstances, there are cases where patients die during or immediately after physical restraint.
At a psychiatric hospital in Ishikawa prefecture, a 40-year-old man who was hospitalized in 2016 died of economy class syndrome after being detained in bed for 6 days, and the Kanazawa branch of the Nagoya High Court compensated about 35 million yen. I'm telling the hospital to do it.