Time away from clinical practice to attend mandatory patient handling training is an increasing challenge for healthcare organisations, and standard classroom training alone is not adequate to positively influence safer and effective working practices.

Much has been written about the safe patient handling which requires direct patient contact, for example a patient transfer, but less so about the handling risks associated with patient transportation.

Standing and raising aids (SARA), also known as sit-to-stand devices, are often used by caregivers to transfer patients or residents between two seated positions, e.g. seated on the edge of a bed to a wheelchair, orseated in a wheelchair to commode or a shower chair.A standing and raising aid is an active patient lift designed  to support only the upper body of the patient and requires the patient to bear some weight. 

More than half of residents in elderly and home care need substantial and daily assistance with washing and/or showering, which can place a great deal of load on a caregivers body.  

More than half of residents in elderly and home care need substantial and daily assistance which can place a great deal of load on a caregiver’s body. It has often been assumed that dynamic load, such as manual  resident transfers and repositioning, are the sources of most of the caregiver injuries.1,2,3,4,5 

A patient’s level of functional mobility is key when choosing how to support their independence. This involves planning to have the right amount of space required available and ensuring the right equipment is used. As a patient’s mobility decreases, the number of aids and  space requirements can increase accordingly.  

Patient transfers are a frequent occurrence in a variety of healthcare settings. Common patient transfer tasks in care facilities can include:  Bed and chair repositioning   Supine/lateral transfers  Seated transfers  

Helping patients and residents with limited or reduced mobility perform everyday tasks may require caregivers to perform multiple transfers throughout the day. 

This April will be the first Safe Patient Handling & Mobility Awareness Month, an initiative launched by the International Journal of SPHM, with the goal of driving safe patient handling and mobility forward.  

Although high or prolonged pressure is often viewed as the most significant extrinsic factor in pressure ulcer development, there is a growing appreciation of the effects of microclimate in pressure ulcer formation and healing.1 Controlling microclimate is a key factor for patients at risk of maceration and skin breakdown.2