• Client List:

    • OSS Limited, Letchworth Garden City
    • South Essex Partnership Trust, (SEPT)
    • Central Bedfordshire Council
    • St Judes Physiotherapy Clinic
    • C & G Care Homes Ltd
    • Spectra Care Group
    • Great Ormond Street Hospital
    • Samuel Whitbread Community College
    • Volker, (Dusseldorf)
    • Aged Care Channel, (Australia)
MJBTraining logo
 

Manual Handling Training

Legislation

Employers Must:
  • Avoid hazardous manual handling wherever reasonably practicable.
  • Assess any hazardous activities where manual handling cannot be avoided.
  • Reduce the risk of injury to the lowest level reasonably practicable.
  • Review risk assessments where appropriate.
Employees Must:
  • Use all systems of work their employer has put in place, including making proper use of equipment provided.

Risk Assessment

Risk Assessment is the most important aspect of manual handling and no handling task should be undertaken without an assessment being carried out. The five steps to risk assessment are:
  • Identify the elements of significant risk.
  • Decide who might be harmed and how.
  • Evaluate risks and control measures
  • Record the findings of the assessment
  • Review/revise the assessment

We use a systematic approach across the UK, known as TILE – Task, Individual, Load and Environment.

*Task:
Does the task involve:
  • Holding loads away from the trunk.
  • Twisting or stooping.
  • Reaching upwards or large vertical movement.
  • Long carrying distances.
  • Strenuous pushing or pulling.
  • Unpredictable movement of loads.
  • Repeated handling over a short period of time.
  • Insufficient rest or recovery time.
  • A work rate imposed by a process.
  • Requires special training

*Individual:
Appropriately dressed, Competent & confident.

*Load:
  • Heavy, bulky, unwieldy, difficult to grasp.
  • Unstable/unpredictable.
  • Intrinsically harmful
  • If a client do they understand. Are they compliant, aggressive, confused, able to help themselves. Are they clothed appropriately, in pain. What is their diagnosis.

*Environment:
Are there constraints on posture, poor floors, variations in level, hot, cold, humid, poor lighting, items on floor, high / low shelving, poorly maintained or no equipment.

Principles of Safer Handling:

  • Control the task.
  • Ensure Sufficient space.
  • Adjust the height of furniture.
  • Use clear explanations and recommended commands, (Ready, steady, move).
  • Use Equipment and techniques correctly.
  • Adopt the correct posture, (Straight back, knees relaxed, head up, good grip, feet apart).
  • Utilise weight transference.
Controversial practice:

Lifting all or most of a client’s weight increases the risk of injury to both staff and clients. Clients should be encouraged to assist in their own transfers and handling aids must be used whenever they can reduce the risk of injury. Handling clients manually may continue only if it does not involve lifting most or all of a client’s weight.

Handling methods that are recognised as controversial include:
  • The drag lift.
  • The orthodox lift.
  • The bear hug/pivot transfer.
  • The Australian lift/carry
  • The top and tail