Manual handling is a key part of the day-to-day responsibilities of care home employees. However, if it’s not done correctly or safely, this can result in serious injuries for both care home staff and residents.
The moving and handling of care home residents is a regular task, so it’s important that there is plenty of support from care home managers. It’s crucial to ensure that employees in the care sector know how to assist a resident in a wheelchair, use specialist equipment or help someone sit, stand, or walk. Poor moving and handling can cause musculoskeletal disorders, as well as other moving and handling accidents. Within this article, you will find important information that you can use when it comes to the moving and handling of care home residents.
Prepare A Manual Handling Policy
Firstly, it’s important to develop a moving and handling policy, which can demonstrate your organisation’s commitment to minimising the risk of injury when moving and handling residents. There are some key elements, which need to be included, such as details of staff members and their responsibilities. You should also outline your risk assessment, followed by your action-planning process. It’s essential to show your commitment to introducing appropriate measures with the aim of supporting staff, providing training, and monitoring compliance. Remember to identify where injuries could occur and what should be done to prevent them.
Use The Correct Equipment
The use of specialist equipment is crucial to reducing the risk of injuries. There are many different types of equipment you can find, depending on the specific needs of residents. For example, NHC Group provides a variety of mobile hoists for residents with limited mobility. They are designed with attention to detail so that they can limit the risk of accidents in your care home. You can use mobile hoists to lift a person from a seated position or transfer them to another location. Moreover, mobile hoists at NHC Group come with a wide range of features and some of them can even be customised.
Identify Hazards
It’s important to look at the possible risks to health when performing moving and handling activities. For instance, this might refer to awkward positioning or excessive strain. You should determine how often moving and handling activities are carried out in your care home. Consider staff members who are involved in this process and the level of their training and knowledge. Then, you should think about people who might be at risk of injury due to hazards you have identified. Most of the time, you will need to include employees, residents, as well as their families and visitors.
Assess The Risks
Next, you will need to perform risk assessments, that take into consideration the individual’s specific needs and their abilities. It’s also essential to consider moving and handling in case of an emergency, noting down the number of staff members needed and the type of equipment that needs to be used in different situations. Keep in mind that residents’ needs and abilities might vary throughout the day due to a variety of reasons. For example, they may not be as strong as usual if they take medications, which affect their endurance and muscle strength.
Provide Proper Training
Before being able to move residents in a care home, employees must undergo learning and practical training, followed by an assessment of their competency. This ensures that they can move and position residents safely to prevent the risk of injuries. It’s important for them to understand how to support residents while promoting their independence, dignity, and functional mobility. You will need to provide relevant training to staff, along with a schedule of refresher training, focusing on moving and handling, as well as general health and safety. In addition, employees should always be comfortable asking for clarification on things that they don’t understand.
Prevent Injuries
Some of the most common injuries experienced by employees include back and neck injuries. As a result, this can limit their movement and ability to care for residents. Additionally, lifting a resident incorrectly may lead to them experiencing increased breathing difficulties, bruising, damage to fragile skin, and shoulder injuries. To avoid manual handling injuries in care homes, you should provide assistive equipment, as well as clear and regular instructions to staff. You should also make sure that employees are well-rested and not expected to carry out any tasks, that may put their health and safety in danger.
Consider Your Employer Responsibilities
As a care home employer, you will need to think about your responsibilities when it comes to reducing the risk of injury from manual handling activities. This means that a risk assessment must be performed prior to all manual handling tasks to ensure employees and residents are safe. You should also provide specific information regarding the equipment and techniques your employees are expected to use. Remember to evaluate the individual capabilities of each staff member before allocating a specific task. Also, you should check that moving and handling equipment is regularly maintained and safe to use.
Review Relevant Legislation
You will need to familiarise yourself with the various pieces of legislation, which provide more information about equipment safety. Following the provided guidelines will help you ensure the health and safety of employees and residents. Some of the most important pieces of legislation include PUWER which stands for Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and LOLER referring to Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. When creating your policies about moving and handling, you should ensure that this legislation is being followed.
Investigate Accidents
Care homes should also investigate any manual handling accidents which have occurred as part of their monitoring. This means that corrective action can be taken and learning can be shared so that improvements can be made for the future. In the event of an accident, it’s important to find out why your existing measures failed and what needs to be done for the accident to be prevented from happening again. You may need to identify areas where your risk assessment needs to be reviewed. Investigating and analysing accidents will help you manage health and safety and introduce risk control measures.
Apply Effective Manual Handling Techniques
Employees should focus on performing every moving and handling task with health and safety in mind. This means that they will need to learn how to apply effective manual handling techniques. It’s important for them to take an ergonomic approach, which means moving and handling is done in a way that is comfortable and efficient for everyone involved. As a result, they might need to practise different movements, such as pulling, lifting, pushing, lowering, and other manoeuvring techniques. In addition, they should always notify managers of any accidents, hazards, or near misses.
Monitor And Review
Remember that circumstances might often change, so it’s advisable to review risk assessments on a regular basis. You should also monitor moving and handling activities, which are carried out during the day. This way you will ensure that the correct procedures and techniques are used. It’s also essential to record the findings of your risk assessments and keep a record, which can be reviewed when necessary. Risk assessments need to be performed periodically, particularly if there is a new piece of equipment or a new resident in your care home or an accident has occurred.
