Moving and Handling for Carers

The Law:

Health and Safety At Work Act of 1974

Manual Handling Operations Regulations

LOLER (Lifting Operations Lifting Equipment Regulations)

RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations)

PUWER (Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations)

Anatomy of the Spine:

Cervical, Thoracic, Lumbar, Sacral, Coccyx

Spinal Cord, Nerves, Muscles

Disc: Acts as cushion, spacer, shock absorber

Unsafe Lifting Practise:

Australian Lift, Drag Lift, Orthodox Lift, 

Principles of Moving and Handling:

Avoid lifting or carrying heavy load if possible.

If you can't avoid, do your personal risk assessment.

Reduce risk by asking assistance.

Do not twist, stoop or bend. 

Always use your thigh muscles rather than back muscles.

Always roll service user towards you.

Always communicate even when the person is unconscious.

Use correct clothing and footwear.

Love your load or carry your load close to you.

Moving and Handling accidents can happen anywhere and to anyone.

How to assist a person who had a fall:  Moving and handling manoeuvre in different scenarios where an individual had a fall.

How to roll the service user when doing personal care or changing sheets.

How to insert slide sheet.

How to remove a tubular slide sheet

Hoist Checks:  It is very important to check the equipment before use. 

Hoisting from bed: How to use a hoist to transfer a service user out of bed to a chair, wheelchair or commode.

Hoisting from the floor:  In an event of a falls, after the emergency buzzer was activated and the nurse on duty attended to the resident and said it is safe to transfer the resident to bed, chair or wheelchair, here's how to hoist a service user from the floor.

How to assist individual during bath i.e. using fixed bath hoist chair.

Assisting an individual into a car i.e. using equipments like zimmer frame, wheelchair, sliding board (banana board) or slide sheet.