Vestfold Hospital kept psychiatric patients strapped to belt beds for days after any danger had passed, including one for more than 18 days, Norway's Ombud found.
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In a visit report published on 15 May 2026, Norway's Parliamentary Ombud, acting as the national preventive mechanism against torture, reviewed restraint decisions in three acute psychiatric wards at Vestfold Hospital from 1 January 2025 up to its 10-12 November 2025 visit. Ten restraint episodes lasted more than 48 hours, one patient was belted for more than 18 days in a single episode, and the hospital repeatedly failed to document why restraint continued, including while patients were asleep or cooperative. Ombud Hanne Harlem said keeping patients restrained after the acute danger had passed 'is unlawful and creates a risk of inhuman treatment,' and the report also criticised staff holding towels over the faces of patients who spat. The Ombud noted hospital management had introduced measures to reduce coercion.
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