Cage bed

Cage bed for the mentally ill, 1910, Helsinki University Museum

A cage bed, also known as enclosure bed or veil bed, is a bed with either metal bars or netting designed to restrain a person of any given age within the boundaries of the bed. They are most commonly used with the mentally impaired or demented patients who are likely to get out of bed without warning.

To counter the use of cage beds for mentally handicapped children, a political campaign to ban the use of cage beds in the Czech Republic was popularized by author J. K. Rowling.

Psychiatric practitioners in the Czech Republic have defended the use of the beds, calling them the best way to restrain patients who could harm themselves or others. "We can either use cage beds, or increase people's medication, strap them down, or put them in solitary confinement," says Jan Slezak, director of Social Care Home in Raby, eastern Bohemia. "We see cage beds as the best solution."

See also

• Medical restraint
• Sedation