title: Side rails: the need for appropriate assessment.
abstract: Side rails, or 'cot-sides' as they have been widely known, have always been used so freely both in hospitals and nursing homes since I started my career in 1981 that, prior to reading this article, I never considered them as anything more than safety equipment that prevents a patient falling out of bed. The thought of careful risk-assessment and gaining consent prior to their use had never crossed my mind.
authors.affiliation: A nursing home in Liverpool.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Leonard