{{Short description|Room in a psychiatric hospital}} {{About|a mental hospital and special education cell|other uses|Seclusion and restraint practices|the Joe Budden album|Padded Room (album)}} {{redirect|Seclusion room|other uses|Special education}} {{Multiple issues| {{original research|date=September 2016}} {{refimprove|date=September 2016}} }} [[File:RubberRoomMelbourneGaol2012.png|thumb|right|A no-longer-in-use padded cell at the Old Melbourne Gaol in Melbourne, Australia. Photographed in 2012.]] thumb|A woman in a seclusion room, 1889 A '''padded cell''' or '''seclusion room''' is a controversial enclosure used in a psychiatric hospital or a special education setting in a private or public school, in which there are cushions lining the walls and sometimes the floor as well. The padding is used in an attempt to prevent patients from hurting themselves by hitting their head (or other body parts) on the hard surface of the walls. In most cases, an individual's placement in a padded cell is involuntary.
Other names used are ''rubber room'',<ref>[http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/dictionary/rubber_room/ "rubber room" definition from Double-Tongued Dictionary<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> ''padded room'', ''time-out room'', ''calming room'', ''quiet room'', or ''personal safety room''.
==Use== The length of time patients are kept in a padded cell varies greatly. Some patients remained locked in a padded cell for several days. A patient might also be made to wear a straitjacket if they are considered at risk of self-harm.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}}
The use of padded cells and straitjackets declined drastically following the introduction of psychotropic drugs in the 1950s. Personal Safety Rooms are still used throughout the world and can be beneficial in providing a safe environment for not only occupants but also staff, and can prevent work-related injuries in the facilities.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}}
A reconstructed padded cell is maintained at the Mental Health Museum, Fieldhead Hospital, Wakefield, UK.<ref>{{cite web |title=About us: our history |url=https://www.southwestyorkshire.nhs.uk/mental-health-museum/about-us/our-history/ |website=MHM |publisher=Mental Health Museum |access-date=18 November 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Padded Environment |url=http://www.wakefieldasylum.co.uk/management-and-treatment/a-padded-environment/ |website=Stanley Royd Hospital |publisher=Wakefield Asylum |access-date=18 November 2020}}</ref>
==Current practice== thumb|Seclusion room in a psychiatric hospital in Germany In the UK, seclusion is defined by the Mental Health Act 1983 Code of Practice as: "the supervised confinement of a patient in a room, which may be locked. Its sole aim is to contain severely disturbed behavior that is likely to cause harm to others."<ref name="nice glossary">{{cite report|date=May 2015 |title=Violence and aggression: short-term management in mental health, health and community settings |url=https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng10/chapter/1-Recommendations |publisher=NICE |id=NG10|access-date=4 November 2017}}</ref> The Code of Practice (paragraph 26.109) says that a seclusion room should only be used for that purpose and should have the following features<ref name="MHACOP">{{cite book |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Mental Health Act 2013 Code of Practice |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/435512/MHA_Code_of_Practice.PDF |location=Norwich, UK |publisher=The Stationery Office |page=300 |date=2015 |isbn=978-0-11-323006-8}}</ref> as summarized in the guide published by the Care Quality Commission:<ref name="cqc">{{cite web |url=https://www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/20170126_briefguide-seclusion-rooms.pdf |title=Brief guide: seclusion rooms |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=September 2015|publisher=Care Quality Commission |access-date=4 November 2017|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107013223/https://www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/20170126_briefguide-seclusion-rooms.pdf|archive-date=2017-11-07}}</ref> *"Allow for communication with the patient when the patient is in the room and the door is locked, for example, via an intercom" *"Include limited furnishings, which should include a bed, pillow, mattress and blanket or covering" *"Have no apparent safety hazards" *"Have robust, reinforced window(s) that provide natural light (where possible the window should be positioned to enable a view outside)" *"Have externally controlled lighting, including a main light and subdued lighting for night time" *"Have robust door(s) which open outwards" *"Have externally controlled heating and/or air conditioning, which enables those observing the patient to monitor the room temperature" *"Have no blind spots and alternate viewing panels should be available where required" *"Always have a clock visible to the patient from within the room" *"Have access to toilet and washing facilities"
==Criticism == There is evidence that seclusion rooms and padded cells are used as punishment for minor behavioral problems in public schools and special education programs. There have also been cases of students being locked in seclusion rooms only to be found covered in blood later.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith Richards |first=Jennifer |last2= Cohen |first2= Jodi S. |last3= Chavis |first3= Lakeidra |date=2020-01-24 |title=The Quiet Rooms: Children are being locked away, alone and terrified, in schools across Illinois |url=https://graphics.chicagotribune.com/illinois-seclusion/index.html |access-date=2024-04-03 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en}}</ref>
In the United States, there have been multiple unsuccessful attempts to ban the use of seclusion rooms in schools by congress.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cohen |first1=Jodi |last2=Richards |first2=Jennifer Smith |title=National Ban on School Use of Seclusion and Restraint of Students Introduced in Congress |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/national-ban-on-school-use-of-seclusion-and-restraint-of-students-introduced-in-congress |access-date=8 March 2026 |publisher=ProPublica |date=November 19, 2020}}</ref>
== See also ==
* Abuse in special education * Restraint and seclusion * Keeping All Students Safe Act
==References== <references />
== External links == * [https://www.thetimechamber.co.uk/beta/sites/asylums/asylum-history/the-padded-cell TheTimeChamber] - History and photographs of Padded Cells in Great Britain * [http://opacity.us/image7255_rubber_room.htm rubber room (USA)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211208184046/https://opacity.us/image7255_rubber_room.htm |date=2021-12-08 }} and [http://opacity.us/image4873_padded_room.htm padded room (UK)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211208184051/https://opacity.us/image4873_padded_room.htm |date=2021-12-08 }} photos in abandoned hospitals
Category:Psychiatric restraint Category:Rooms Category:Psychiatric hospitals Category:Special education in the United States
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