Moving and Handling Essay

Outcome 1 1)When you are required to assist people to move or help to reposition people it is important to understand the related anatomy and physiology, anatomy being the physical structure of the body and physiology the normal functions of the body. When a muscle contracts it pulls the bones at a joint in the direction that it is designed to move, when supporting moving and positioning activities it is important to think about the direction a joint moves in and how far the joint is designed to move in that direction. For example an elbow or knee joint can only extend to a certain point and trying to push these joints past that point would cause painful damage to that joint. 2)When positioning people who are unable to move themselves, it is important to remember to always check their pressure areas, especially the elbows, heels and the bony part of the back at the base of the spine called the sacrum. Poor positioning techniques can cause pressure areas to develop. Care needs to be taken when moving people with certain medical conditions, for example care must be taken when moving or positioning arthritic people in order to reduce the possibility of causing pain and discomfort. You also need to remember that arthritic joints have limited movement so you should not attempt to move these beyond their limits. When assisting people with Parkinson’s disease to find a comfortable position, be careful not to force the rigid limb further than it is able to. Also people with Parkinson’s disease have slower reaction times so it is important to give people suffering from this condition time to move and not to rush them. Always look for non-verbal signs of pain or discomfort. When moving and handling people who have suffered from a stroke, you will need to be aware of the extent of the stroke and what parts of the body have been affected. Outcome 2Â  1)Legislation is in place to protect people and reduce the risk of injury to care workers and the people they support. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 makes it a legal requirement for employers to make sure that the health, safety and welfare of their employees is maintained and employees have a duty to take care of the health, safety and welfare of themselves and others. The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (amended 2002) relate to moving and handling in the workplace. These Regulations were updated in 2002. The Regulations are for employers, self-employed people and employees. They state that employers must avoid all dangerous manual handling activities when it is reasonable and practical to do this. If it is not possible, the risks regarding the task must be assessed including the load, the working environment and the ability of the handler then appropriate action should be taken to reduce the risk to the lowest level. Employees must follow the appropriate procedure outlined by their employer to promote safety during moving and repositioning. If you are responsible for assisting somebody to move, it is both the responsibility of the employer and the employee to ensure your safety and that of the person being moved. 2) There are several health and safety factors that need to be considered before moving or positioning someone. Firstly you should plan the activity by asking questions like, what activity will you be assisting with? Are you helping the person to stand, roll, walk or turn? If you are assisting someone to walk, how far do you need to go? Who else could help you? How long will the activity take? Secondly consider the environment and identify any potential hazards. Are there any obstacles or obstructions, which may increase the risk of you or the person tripping over? Is the floor level, dry and free from obstacles like rugs? Is there enough space for the activity? Thirdly think about the person who is being assisted to move or who is being positioned because they will be at the centre of the activity. What can they do for themselves? How much support will they need? How can you encourage their independence during the activity? Has the person experienced the activity before? Are there any medical devices attached to the person such as catheter bags, intravenous drips or wound drains? What is the person’s weight and height? In addition you should also consider how suitable you and your colleagues are for assisting in the activity. Have you had moving and handling training? What is your state of health and well-being? Is your clothing suitable to perform moving and handling procedures? Does your footwear fit properly and is it supportive? Lastly when planning moving and handling of a person there may be a piece of equipment that is required such as a hoist, walking frame or slide sheet. Before using any equipment, you should check that it is available, clean, in good condition and in good working order. Also find out if the person being assisted has used the equiptment before and if there were any problems. You should only use equipment that you have been trained to use. Outcome 3Â  1) A) It is important before assisting somebody to move, that you access up-to-date information about their moving and handling requirements, their ability to cooperate, their health condition and their moving and handling requirements. This information should be found in the person’s support plan and their moving and handling risk assessment. Both these documents should be read at the same time as each other because the support plan will provide specific information on the individual person like what the person can do for themselves, the amount of support needed by the person from care staff, any limitations of the person e.g. medical conditions that should be taken into account, how the person moves, how often they need to be repositioned and any problems or benefits from moving and handling equipment that the person has used. B) Although there is similar information in the moving and handling risk assessment it will also contain details that focus on reducing the risk of harm to the person and the care worker from moving and handling activities. Risk assessments identify potential hazards that could cause harm and include the moving and positioning activity itself, the environment, the person, any equipment that will be used, yourself and other care workers. 2) It is important that you check the person, equipment and the environment before undertaking any moving and positioning activities You should always consider if the person is still able to cooperate with the activity, also check for catheter bags, intravenous drips or wound drains and that the equipment is clean and safe. It is also good practice to check that the person’s footwear is suitable for the activity and check the floor for any obstacles. It is very important to watch out for floors that have just been washed and wet floor signs. 2) For each identified risk you need to be clear about who might be harmed; it will help you identify the best way of managing the risk. That doesn’t mean listing everyone by name, but rather identifying groups of people, In each case, identify how they might be harmed, i.e. what type of injury or ill health might occur. you then have to decide what to do about them. The law requires you to do everything ‘reasonably practicable’ to protect people from harm. You can work this out for yourself, but the easiest way is to compare what you are doing with good practice. 3) Sometimes workplace polices and procedures in relation to moving and handling may conflict with someones wishes. [ For example, some workplaces have adopted no-lifting policies which mean that hoists are used for all people but what if a person does not want to be hoisted If dealt with incorrectly, this could leave people feeling undervalued, humiliated, distressed and degraded. You could also find yourself in trouble, because the persons basic human rights may have been violated. To prevent conflicts from developing between people and workplace policies relating to moving and positioning, it is best to involve people in their own risk assessments and mobility support plans in the first place, if appropriate. Risk assessments should focus on the needs of the person, not just the needs of the service provider. Where possible, people should be placed at the centre of the planning process and given choice over their moving and positioning requirements, as they will have the best knowledge of their own mobility. The wishes of the person need to be balanced with the need to ensure that care staffs are not put at risk through moving and positioning activities. Balancing the wishes of somebody with the rights of care workers will help promote a person’s independence, autonomy and dignity. However, sometimes, a person’s condition can change and their mobility can improve as well as deteriorate. This may lead to them changing their mind on how they wish to be moved or positioned. If their wishes conflict with their plan of support, it is important that you document this in the persons support plan and inform your manager. If the person wants to do more for themselves, you should encourage this, but be aware of their limitations are they trying to do too much too soon If the person refuses to be moved or turned, you should encourage them to move as much as possible by themselves.