According to the code of ethics, “Patients should be treated in a safe environment ensuring that actual or any potential risks are eliminated.” (Code of Practice no.13) With regards to this the code of practice states that “Physical therapists shall be trustworthy and compassionate in addressing the rights and needs of patients/clients. Physical therapists shall collaborate with patients/clients to empower them in decisions about their health care”. The meaning of this implies that a physiotherapist can override a patient’s right to self-determination only to prevent harm. Restraining the patient could result in more disturbed behaviour, which could ultimately harm the patient, or in the worst-case scenario, could cause the patient to harm the physiotherapist. Mr ellul has three viable reasons which support the use of restraints: the ignorance or impaired capacity for rational reflection of the agent, the magnitude and probability of harm that would result without the use of restraints and the ability of the patient to understand at a later time that the act of parentalisim was done for his own benefit. As stated previously, the code of ethics states that it is the right and duty of the physiotherapist to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the patient. Thus, in this case, to ensure the safety of the patient one needs to make use of the restraint. As a result, by benefiting the patient to prevent him from getting injured, there was overriding of the patient’s autonomy.
The second option would be to honour the patient’s wishes, which would make the patient happy and calm him down. However, this may lead to severe consequences of leaving him unrestrained. No restraints could also put the already nervous client in jeopardy of harming himself if he decides to stay moving around, which could lead to another