This is documented in the Parliamentary Ombud’s report following investigations and a visit to the hospital.

Being restrained with belts can cause very serious harm, and the risk increases the longer the restraint lasts.

“In several of the cases, the documentation indicates that patients remained restrained long after the acute dangerous situation had passed. This is unlawful and creates a risk of inhuman treatment,” says Parliamentary Ombud Hanne Harlem.

Read a summary of the report here.

Read the full report (Norwegian)

The Mental Health Care Act requires that the conditions for the use of mechanical restraints must be met for as long as the restraint continues. The use of restraints must be “strictly necessary”, and the need must be continuously assessed and documented.

Several cases exceeding 48 hours

The Parliamentary Ombud’s Preventive Mechanism visited the Psychiatric Hospital Department at Vestfold Hospital from 10 to 12 November 2025 and examined the use of restraints on patients in three acute wards during the period from 1 January to 12 November 2025.

Many patients were restrained in belt beds for long periods, in some cases for several consecutive days. Ten of the decisions examined by the Parliamentary Ombud lasted for more than 48 hours.

The Ombud’s review shows that the hospital on several occasions failed to document why patients remained restrained in belts for such long periods.

One patient was restrained several times for many days, including one instance lasting more than 18 days. The patient remained restrained for around two days before the hospital documented that the need for continued use of restraints had been assessed.

In several cases, it was documented that patients were asleep or cooperative for extended periods without the use of restraints being discontinued. One example concerned a patient who had to wait for a new assessment until staff from the day shift arrived, despite documentation stating that the patient had been cooperative throughout the night.

Continued need for prevention

The Parliamentary Ombud emphasises that being strapped into a belt bed is a highly intrusive measure. This form of coercion places strict demands on the follow-up and supervision of patients throughout the restraint period. The report describes several circumstances that increase the risk of human rights violations.

In some cases, staff held a towel in front of a patient’s face when the patient spat, and one medical record described a patient stating that a tightly held towel had been placed over their mouth.

“We strongly advise against this practice because it carries a risk of obstructing the airways and may be frightening,” says Harlem.

At the same time, the Ombud’s findings show that the hospital management was concerned with preventing the use of coercive measures and had introduced several measures aimed at avoiding and improving the quality of restraint practices. Nevertheless, the findings concerning poorly reasoned decisions and insufficient justification for continued restraint showed that there is still a need to strengthen preventive efforts.

Background

  • The Norwegian Parliamentary Ombud for Public Administration has visited the psychiatric emergency admissions unit and two acute wards (A and C) at the Psychiatric Hospital Department at Vestfold Hospital.
  • In September 2025, Vestfold Hospital was notified that the Norwegian Parliamentary Ombud for Public Administration would conduct a visit before the end of 2026. The date of the visit was not disclosed.
  • In hospitals, the use of mechanical restraints such as belts constitutes a coercive intervention that entails a high risk of inhuman or degrading treatment. The Norwegian Parliamentary Ombud for Public Administration has therefore examined the use of such restraints at selected hospitals.
  • In Norway, a public commission proposed in 2019 that the legal basis for the use of mechanical restraints should be phased out over a three-year period, and that the use of mechanical restraints should thereafter, as a general rule, be prohibited.
  • The Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services has previously expressed support for the proposal to phase out mechanical restraints, but as of May 2026 the proposal has not been followed up.