The Uses and Limitations of Mechanical Restraint as a means of Treatment of the Insane

Extract

I do not wish to enter into any dissertation on the question of mechanical restraint, as such, or to conduct the discussion in to an academic debate on the ethics of mechanical restraint. I want to take a more limited view. I want this discussion really to be, if possible, an interchange of views as to the best way of treating and managing certain difficult and exceptional cases which crop up every now and then. I propose to give you the benefit of my experience in dealing with some exceptionally difficult cases, in which I have found a modified use of mechanical restraint beneficial to the patient.