Nurses rely on standards and guidelines to stay up to date in practice. After reviewing our guidelines and practice standards, we have determined that some are no longer relevant to current practice settings.
To ensure nurses have the information they need, we are replacing the Infection Prevention and Control and Restraints practice standards and several guidelines with updated resources that will better guide your decision-making. The guidelines we are replacing are:
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Complementary Therapies
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Culturally Sensitive Care
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Disagreeing with the Plan of Care
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Influenza Vaccinations
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Preparing for Influenza Pandemic
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Supporting Learners
A review of the documents and consultation with nurses found that two standards and six guidelines no longer reflected the latest evidence and legislation and did not meet nurses’ needs. And the research showed that nurses were using other resources to support their decision-making. As well, the key principles and accountabilities in these documents are still found in existing CNO resources, such as Professional Standards, Revised 2002, Decisions About Procedures and Authority, Ethics and Consent.
We have developed a series of new resources, including FAQs and case scenarios, which further explain the accountabilities that were in these two standards. Visit our Practice Support webpage to learn what resources you should review when making decisions about applying restraints or preventing or controlling infection.
For additional support, you can look to legislation and other external resources. For example, the accountabilities on infection, prevention and control are found in the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Health Protection and Promotion Act. You can also find relevant resources through Public Health Ontario and the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
To understand your accountabilities when applying restraints, the Patient Restraints Minimization Act regulates when and how restraints may be used and addresses the principle of minimal restraint on patients. It includes components such as staff training, reassessment, record keeping, patient consent, policy development relating to restraint use and alternative methods. Health Quality Ontario is another good source for evidence-based information related to restraints.
As well, it is an important accountability to continue to seek updated evidence to guide practice and to know and follow your workplace polices for both infection prevention and control and restraints.