NC mental hospital workers say they’re scapegoats

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – Five workers at Central Regional Hospital suspended for strapping a patient face-down on a bed say they lacked the manpower and training to deal with a difficult patient.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Tuesday the mental health workers were involved in an incident with a 24-year-old man last week who resisted having his blood drawn.

A nurse and four health care technicians are on paid leave while state officials investigate. The newspaper said another worker was fired.

The workers say they were short-handed and did not have enough training to handle the patient, whom they described as “very aggressive.”

The newspaper said the workers admitted they restrained the man face-down, not on his back as they were taught. Being restrained face down can induce panic and make it hard to breathe.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)