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We have camera's and motion detectors in all the patient rooms. Thus, it allows us to monitor patients 24/7 without being intrusive or waking them up every 15 minutes by opening the door. The only place they do not have camera's in bathrooms and showers, thus the person has to be continuously monitored for use of these areas.

There is a broad range of practices related to this issue. Typically, it's a question of does an institution have a "mid-range" observation policy between 15-minute checks and 1:1. Some facilities utilize "5-min" checks. Others require that the patient stay in the common area but do not have an assigned staff to ensure. If you email me directly, I will share with you our policy, in which we sought to return the responsibility for maintaining safety to the patient but supporting this transition by building trust and supporting the concerns of staff that they not be held liable for having an observation patient assigned to them along with other responsibiltiies. It is a tough balance.

In our program, there is no difference between close observations and suicide precaution. Patients who are believed to be in acute danger/actively suicidal are placed on 1:1 observation with a sitter and are usually (but not always) in view of staff as well.