Law sets strict limits on restraining people with intellectual disabilities

Yle reports that people receiving special care for intellectual disabilities may be restrained only through specific measures and when strict legal criteria are met. The Kainuu wellbeing services county has used pepper spray on people with intellectual disabilities, a practice the Finnish Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities says is not permitted.

The wellbeing services county has justified the use of pepper spray by citing staff safety. Its use at a care unit in Kajaani has also shocked experts.

According to Susanna Rieppo, an expert at the Finnish Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, the measures allowed in special care and the situations in which they may be used are precisely defined in the Act on Special Care for People with Intellectual Disabilities.

One permitted measure is holding a person. Staff may also take possession of substances or objects, such as alcohol or drugs, if they are considered to pose a safety risk.

The law also allows a person to be isolated for a short period. For example, they may be placed in a room locked from the outside, provided contact with them is maintained. This may last for no more than two hours.

In serious situations where a person endangers their own or someone else’s health or safety, devices or clothing that restrict movement or activity may also be used. A person may, for example, be kept restrained for up to eight hours.

Restrictive measures may not be used for educational purposes or as punishment.

Three criteria must apply at the same time

Rieppo says restrictions may be used only when three key criteria are met simultaneously. The person must be unable to make decisions concerning their own care and unable to understand the consequences of their behaviour.

The measure must also be necessary to protect health and safety or to prevent property damage. In addition, restrictions may be used only when less restrictive means suitable for the situation are insufficient.

Rieppo says legislation governing services for people with intellectual disabilities is based on preventing challenging situations and identifying the causes of challenging behaviour at an early stage.