The nurse inspects a psychiatric room for a client at high risk for suicide. Click the environmental ligature hazard.
Hot Spot
Choose your responses, then check the answer.
Explanation
The looped window-blind cord can be used as a ligature attachment. High-risk environments should remove or mitigate accessible cords and anchor points.
Quick answer The looped window-blind cord can be used as a ligature attachment. High-risk environments should remove or mitigate accessible cords and anchor points.
Why this is correct A looped blind cord can serve as a ligature point in a high-risk psychiatric environment. Environmental safety focuses on accessible cords and anchor points that a client could use for self-harm.
Easy analogy or mental picture Scan the room as a reach-and-loop map: look for anything long enough to form a loop and anything strong enough to act as an anchor.
Memory hook The looped blind cord is the accessible ligature hazard.
NCLEX decision rule For a client at high suicide risk, remove or mitigate accessible ligature hazards according to the approved environmental-risk process.
Why the other choices are wrong Built-in furnishings and rounded fixtures may be designed to reduce risk; the visible looped cord is the specific accessible hazard in this room.
References
[1]
The Joint Commission: Suicide risk reduction resources
Clinical situationThe nurse inspects a psychiatric room for a client at high risk for suicide.
What the nurse should noticeThe looped window-blind cord can be used as a ligature attachment. High-risk environments should remove or mitigate accessible cords and anchor points.
Transfer to practiceFor a client at high suicide risk, remove or mitigate accessible ligature hazards according to the approved environmental-risk process.
Ligature hazard — An accessible feature that could be used for hanging or strangulation.
Environmental risk assessment — A structured review of surroundings for patient-safety hazards.