ABSTRACT
There are good moral arguments supporting aversion to restraint. Dodds3 argues that respect for autonomy is a duty that persists, and is thus owed even to those who lack legal capacity. She therefore believes that there is only limited justifi cation for restraining patients on paternalistic grounds.3 There are equally sound clinical reasons to avoid restraining frail elderly people, because of risks associated with their use (see Box 15.1).
