The importance of back care in patient handling
Back Care Awareness Week 2024 is approaching, it is an annual campaign that aims to raise awareness of the importance of good back health, and reducing the risk of injuries. In addition, the campaign promotes educating the public about how they can prevent and manage back pain.
Our spinal health is more important than many of us realise. This awareness week encourages us to prioritize our back health, think about our posture, and consider how our lifestyle might impact our spinal health. As suppliers to hospitals and care homes, we know that back injuries are more likely to occur within the patient-handling profession. Let’s take a look at ways to prevent injury and improve education around back health.
Back injuries in patient handling
Patient handlers who move, transfer, and reposition patients are at a higher risk of injury than some other medical professionals. Moving patients with poor technique, or a lack of appropriate equipment, can potentially cause serious musculoskeletal injury.
According to the WHO, 72% of nurses are suffering from non-specific low back pain. Healthcare staff may not always experience a back injury, but can suffer from overuse, strain, as well as other aches and pains.
Despite manual handling legislation being implemented in the UK, the reduction of “lifting” patients in favour of using lifting equipment, and increased training, injuries and back pain can still occur. There are a variety of factors that influence the risk of injury in patient handling, such as:
An ageing population
Over 10 million people are currently aged 65 and over, making up 18% of the population. In certain areas, such as coastal and rural areas, the proportion of older people is higher. In these areas, one in three people are aged 65 and over, compared with one in five across the country.
Our ageing population in the UK means more people will need assistance than ever before, this might be with getting out of bed, personal care, or moving from one place to another. In the future, this could mean more patients per handler, increasing their risk of injury.
Workplace demands
A study looking at musculoskeletal injuries in healthcare workers found that nurses who regularly manually reposition, transfer, or lift their patients are more at risk of lower back pain than their colleagues who do not complete these duties. If this is a regular part of your role, there is little time to rest and recover in-between.
In addition, longer working hours, economic pressure to take on overtime, and reduced staffing levels can all contribute to the risk of injury or back strain in healthcare professionals. Many of us have busy lives, with responsibilities outside of work as well as in, and a lack of appropriate rest outside of working hours can increase the likelihood of developing back problems.
Societal changes
The Centre for Ageing Better explains that the number of people who are divorced or have never married, and the number of people living alone have both increased significantly since 2011. “A quarter of all people aged 50 or over now live alone”. As people age and become less physically active and mobile, they require more support. Those living alone may need to rely more on the NHS, or care services.
The proportion of adults who were overweight or obese was highest among men aged 45 and 74, and women aged 65 and 74, as of 2019. The combination of an ageing population with more cases of obesity among the elderly may culminate in more difficult movements and lifts for healthcare workers.
Using slide sheets to reduce the risk of injury
The UK has legislation and training in place to protect healthcare professionals at work. According to the Royal College of Nursing, no-one should routinely lift patients. To substitute the need for manual lifting, products such as hoists, sliding aids, electric profiling beds and other equipment should be used.
Manual handling should protect the mover and patient from unreasonable risk, respect the patients personal wishes on mobility, and support the patients independence and autonomy as much as possible. Using slide sheets as a method of moving and repositioning patients encompasses all of these elements.
Slide sheets are simple to use, comfortable for the patient, and are a less intrusive option than other methods. Some key benefits to using slide sheets for patient handling are:
- Reduces the risk of injury to staff
- Simple to use for repositioning and daily care
- Can accommodate different weights and heights of patients
- Available in a variety of types to suit the needs of all patients
- Reduces the risk of skin shearing and protects the patients skin
- Standalone product, doesn’t require equipment or need electricity
How to use the Interweave slide sheets
We have been fortunate enough to work with professional manual handlers to demonstrate how to use our slide sheets. Including flat, tubular, flat with handles, and transfer sheets. Let’s see our patient handling products in action.
Get in touch
We supply a wide range of patient handling products to hospitals, care homes, and community patient handlers. If you have requirements for slide sheets and accessories, you can purchase our products online. If you are ordering in bulk, you can contact our helpful Customer Services team.
