When a resident finds themselves on the floor at three in the morning after having climbed over a bed rail, the night team writes a report, the coordinating doctor reassesses the restraint, and the family demands answers. This scenario, common in facilities housing individuals with cognitive disorders, has led many nursing homes to adopt the Sécuridrap, a textile device that fundamentally changes the management of nighttime fall risk.
Sécuridrap Selfia: a medical device, not just a sheet
On the ground, there is still a persistent confusion. Some facilities order the Sécuridrap as they would purchase regular bed linen, through the hospitality service. This is a circuit error that can have regulatory consequences.
The Sécuridrap Selfia, manufactured by Mulliez-Flory, is classified as a class I medical device. In practical terms, this means it falls under the European regulation (EU 2017/745) on medical devices, with specific obligations regarding traceability, clinical evaluation, and post-market surveillance.
Its indication covers the prevention of nighttime falls, the limitation of excessive wandering, and the protection of infusion devices or urinary protections. It works in conjunction with bed rails, not as a replacement. To better understand the Sécuridrap in nursing homes, one must first grasp this medical dimension that conditions everything else: prescription, training, monitoring.
Prescription and training: obligations that teams underestimate
A recurring point during internal audits is that the Sécuridrap was installed without prior medical prescription. In daily practice, it is sometimes the night nursing assistant who decides to apply it “while waiting” for the doctor’s opinion. This shortcut exposes the facility.
The use of the Sécuridrap requires an individual medical prescription. The manufacturer requires this in its instructions, and the ANSM relayed a safety information in 2020 to clarify this point. The prescribing physician must assess the benefit-risk ratio for each resident, taking contraindications into account.
Contraindications to know before any application
The instructions for the Sécuridrap Selfia list situations where the device should not be used:
- Residents capable of standing up in their bed, as the sheet could cause a loss of balance during an attempt to get out
- Individuals at risk of strangulation due to their morphology or agitation
- Residents whose clinical condition requires quick access to the body for emergency care
These contraindications are not always included in the internal protocols of nursing homes. They are sometimes discovered after an incident, which is too late.
Training nursing staff in the correct action
The manufacturer mandates specific training for teams handling the device. This training covers application, removal, correct positioning of the resident, and monitoring during use. Without documented training, the facility cannot prove its compliance in case of inspection or dispute.
Feedback varies on this point: some nursing homes organize internal sessions with the restraint reference, while others involve the supplier. The essential aspect remains the traceability of the training in the quality file.
Textile restraint in nursing homes: the regulatory framework that is tightening
The Sécuridrap fits into a broader context of gradual reduction of restraint practices in facilities. The HAS recommendations push nursing homes to document each restrictive measure of freedom, to regularly reassess it, and to favor non-coercive alternatives.
The transition to the European regulation (EU 2017/745) reinforces this requirement. A restraint textile is no longer a trivial purchase: it must be traced like any medical device, with a lot number, a date of commissioning, and monitoring of any incidents.
For the teams, this changes the daily routine. The Sécuridrap must be included in the resident’s personalized care plan, with periodic reassessment by the coordinating physician. The mere mention of “night restraint” in the care file is no longer sufficient.
Resident comfort and nighttime safety: what the Sécuridrap changes daily
Beyond the regulatory framework, the Sécuridrap concretely alters the nighttime experience of residents and the work of caregivers. The principle is simple: the sheet keeps the resident in bed without completely immobilizing them, allowing enough freedom of movement to change position.
Compared to other restraint devices (abdominal belts, vests), the textile offers several practical advantages:
- The contact is softer, reducing skin lesions related to friction
- Application is quicker for nursing staff during nighttime changes
- The resident retains a range of motion that limits the feeling of confinement
- Laundry maintenance follows a standard textile circuit, provided the recommended washing temperatures are respected
For caregivers, this saves time on rounds. When the device is properly prescribed and applied, attempts to get out of bed decrease, which reduces emergency interventions during the night.
Maintenance of the Sécuridrap in laundry
The Sécuridrap withstands industrial washing cycles, but the manufacturer’s instructions on temperature and products used must be followed. Too aggressive washing degrades the mechanical properties of the textile and compromises the safety of the device. A worn or deformed Sécuridrap must be removed from the inventory and replaced, like any medical device whose integrity is no longer guaranteed.
Monitoring the textile inventory involves regular inventory checks, with visual inspection of the condition of seams and fabric elasticity. This is a point that quality references are increasingly integrating into their audit grids.
The Sécuridrap does not solve everything. It does not replace geriatric assessment or environmental adaptation (adjustable height medical bed, nighttime lighting, detection mats). But when it is prescribed for the right resident, applied by a trained team, and monitored over time, it remains one of the most suitable textile devices for preventing nighttime falls in nursing homes.