Nevada Revised Statutes Section 433.5496 - Mental Health

Use of mechanical restraint on client other than client of forensic facility; requirements; exceptions; report as denial of rights.

1. Except as otherwise provided in subsections 2 and 4, mechanical restraint may be used on a person with a disability who is a client only if:

(a) An emergency exists that necessitates the use of mechanical restraint;

(b) A medical order authorizing the use of mechanical restraint is obtained from the client’s treating physician before the application of the mechanical restraint or not later than 15 minutes after the application of the mechanical restraint;

(c) The physician who signed the order required pursuant to paragraph (b) or the attending physician examines the client not later than 1 working day immediately after the application of the mechanical restraint;

(d) The mechanical restraint is applied by a member of the staff of the facility who is trained and qualified to apply mechanical restraint;

(e) The client is given the opportunity to move and exercise the parts of his body that are restrained at least 10 minutes per every 60 minutes of restraint;

(f) A member of the staff of the facility lessens or discontinues the restraint every 15 minutes to determine whether the client will stop or control his inappropriate behavior without the use of the restraint;

(g) The record of the client contains a notation that includes the time of day that the restraint was lessened or discontinued pursuant to paragraph (f), the response of the client and the response of the member of the staff of the facility who applied the mechanical restraint;

(h) A member of the staff of the facility continuously monitors the client during the time that mechanical restraint is used on the client; and

(i) The mechanical restraint is used only for the period that is necessary to contain the behavior of the client so that the client is no longer an immediate threat of causing physical injury to himself or others or causing severe property damage.

2. Mechanical restraint may be used on a person with a disability who is a client and the provisions of subsection 1 do not apply if the mechanical restraint is used to:

(a) Treat the medical needs of a client;

(b) Protect a client who is known to be at risk of injury to himself because he lacks coordination or suffers from frequent loss of consciousness;

(c) Provide proper body alignment to a client; or

(d) Position a client who has physical disabilities in a manner prescribed in the client’s plan of services.

3. If mechanical restraint is used on a person with a disability who is a client in an emergency, the use of the procedure must be reported as a denial of rights pursuant to NRS 433.534, regardless of whether the use of the procedure is authorized by statute. The report must be made not later than 1 working day after the procedure is used.

4. The provisions of this section do not apply to a forensic facility, as that term is defined in subsection 5 of NRS 433.5499.

Last modified: February 27, 2006