Policy

There is a risk of injury with all manual handling techniques and there is no manual handling technique that is safe for all customers and carer workers. Research indicates that on average 1 in 4 care staff suffers back pain or injury as the result of poor manual handling in the course of their work. Lack of appropriate help, equipment, space and training increases the risk of injury. It is our aim at The Care Worker Agency to reduce these risks and provide all of the appropriate equipment, training and intervention from relevant professionals to reduce these risks significantly where we cannot avoid them altogether.  

We also note that injury (if it does occur) will usually occur because of accumulative strain over a period of time, and often this has gone unrecognised.  The repeated strain weakens the spinal structures rendering them vulnerable to injury of a more substantial nature.  There are also risks to the safety and well being of customers if policies and practice are not properly followed.

The company will request information regarding the health of employees as part of the recruitment process to ensure that the employee declares any aspect of health which may impact on their ability to operate within their role and we will assess these risks as appropriate and necessary.

The Care Worker Agency will ensure that moving and handling risk assessments are completed prior to a service commencing and also where a customer’s needs have changed and require a review. The outcomes of all risk assessments will be fully and accurately recorded and all employees will be properly trained to carry out their role, taking into account any manual handling issues or requirements relating to the customers they visit. Once a care package has started regular visits from the supervisor will maintain and monitor performance and safety.

Procedure

Care workers must not be put in a position which is unduly dangerous, hazardous or likely to cause short-term or long-term injury when moving plant equipment, or (most importantly) customers.

The Care Worker Agency will:

1.  Identify the level of risk of injury and inform the worker of that level of risk, e.g. manually lifting a customer from a bath or the floor carries a very high risk of back injury, as does manually lifting a client from a bed.

2. Ensure that the care worker's capability matches the customer and the tasks that need to be undertaken.

3.  Ensure that the care worker is competent and trained to use the equipment provided.

4.   Ensure that there is written guidance on how the customer should be moved.

5.  Assess the risk to health and safety of employees and to anyone else who maybe affected by their work activity.

6.   Carry out health surveillance of employees, where it is necessary.

7.  Inform employees of the steps taken to ensure their health, safety and welfare.

8.   Seek cooperation of employees.

9.   Provide employees with appropriate training.

10. Appoint a professionally qualified competent person to assist in the implementation of these requirements

11. Have a written safety policy and update as appropriate, and bring it to the attention of the employees, when any revision has taken place.

Employees are required to:

1.   Cooperate fully with managers in the assessments.

2.   Follow safe systems of work as identified by their manager and health and safety instructions.

3.  Make proper use of the equipment provided and inform the manager if it cannot be used safely or is broken.

4.   Report any potentially dangerous risk.

5.  Take reasonable care of the health and safety of self and other persons who may be affected by their acts or omissions – what they do and what they choose not to do.

6. Ensure that they do not interfere or misuse anything provided in the interests of health and safety – where the law demands that certain things shall be done or used.

7.   Inform the manager if there is any change in a customer’s condition which may affect their own or a colleague's safety.

8.   Inform the manager if there is any change in their own health, which affects their ability to undertake their role.

This will be addressed by the following;

• Full training of all members of staff before any care work whatsoever is carried out.
• Refresher training to update employees on new and also outlawed techniques.
• Full and effective risk assessment which fully addresses the potential problems within an individual care package.
• Periodic re-assessment of the risks.
• Giving staff at all levels the option to refuse to deliver care when they honestly feel that by continuing there may be a moving and handling issue.
• Giving coordinators and care managers the option to refuse to take on a care package which may be unsafe (irrespective of any commercial requirement to do so).
• Creating and continuing a culture which is focused upon solving problems rather than creating them.

The basic principles are:

Avoid –   Hazardous manual handling tasks as far as is reasonably

      practicable

            ASSESS -  The risk of manual handling cannot be avoided.

            REMOVE-  The risk

            REDUCE -  The risk of injury using assessment as a basis for action.

MONITOR - Checks need to be made in order to monitor that the steps

taken to reduce risk are having the desired effect.  If not, alternative steps need to be sought.

Employees must be aware that everyone has a role to play to ensure safe practice in the area of moving and handling.  There may be care packages where these issues were clear cut and straightforward at the outset but due to external factors (the declining health of a customer, for example) have become more borderline.  Employees must not ‘work round’ moving and handling issues but address them head-on.  Any factors which they feel prejudice the moving and handling issues which employees have been told from time to time in formal training sessions and in newsletters or other information media, must be reported immediately to the care manager.  The care manager must not ignore these issues or delay investigation.

Any comments raised by staff about moving and handling must be investigated completely and immediately before care continues.  If the problems are soluble then action must be taken forthwith and care (or the portion of the care package in question) suspended until remedial action taken.  In very exceptional circumstances the situation will have no solution and in that situation care will not continue.

Reviewed April 2025 by Fay Townsend-Jackson