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Tips for instituting a safe-patient handling program

Nurse Leader Weekly, December 17, 2004

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Instituting a safe-patient handling program is the ideal way to prevent back injuries and other musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), according to a new resource guide published by the American Nurses Association (ANA).

As part of its ongoing "Handle With Care" campaign, the ANA has created a new brochure (available online for free) to serve as a resource guide and teaching tool, assisting nurses, hospital managers and administrators in preventing work-related MSDs.

Through a step-by-step process, the guide outlines back injuries and MSDs in nursing and other healthcare occupations, discusses how these debilitating and often disabling injuries can be avoided, and outlines the cost-savings achieved by facilities that have instituted "no-lift" policies.

The following is a list of some of the ANA's recommendations for instituting a safe-handling program at your facility:

1. Create an ergonomics committee: Include managers, purchasers, risk managers and employee/occupational health representatives, and direct caregivers.

2. Analyze data, conduct a walk through and survey employees: Logs and incidents are just the beginning. Set aside time to walk through units and survey employees about their concerns, experiences, and suggestions.

3. Assess patient-dependency levels: Consider patients' unique requirements (e.g., weight status, upper- v. lower-body strength) when deciding which equipment to use.

4. Assess risky patient-handling tasks: Perform an ergonomics hazard assessment. Gather data that identifies tasks, units, patient populations, and physical environment that represent significant risk.

5. Develop and adopt a safe-handling policy: Your policy should be nonpunitive, and it should discourage manual patient handling. It can be either facility-, or unit-specific.

6. Research, evaluate, and select a pilot project: Include frontline staff in every aspect of projects that involve testing new equipment. Establish criteria for your testing, and set a timeline for investing in capital equipment purchases.

To view the 19-page guide, go to http://www.ana.org/handlewithcare/hwc.pdf.

Source: ANA

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