New laws loom to make chemical restraints the ‘option of last resort’ in aged care

The legislation will also allow regulators to conduct random spot-checks on aged care facilities

Nursing homes will have to keep records showing they exhausted all other options before using restraints — either chemical or physical â€” to subdue an aged care patient, according to legislation now before federal Parliament.

The move is an attempt by the Federal Government to curtail the alleged misuse of psychotropic medications, including antipsychotics prescribed by GPs.