Manual Handling

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Nurse’s must assess people’s capabilities and then determine the best technique or equipment to help them move (Brooker and Waugh, 2013). In the liver transplant theatres, we move patients from the stretcher to the operating table and vice versa. Learning the techniques in Manual Handling is a requirement on my part to protect myself from injury. Manual Handling Operations Regulations (1992) aim to reduce the incidence and prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) arising from the manual handling of loads at work. The most common manual handling equipments we use in the theatres are the pat slide and the sliding sheet. Using Gibb’s reflective cycle (1998), I will narrate my learning experience in transferring patients using the aforementioned …show more content…

Employers should introduce new members of staff to basic health and safety laws and principles (Saunders, 2004).When I had completed my training, my mentor permitted me to participate in patient transfers - from the stretcher to the surgical table and vice versa – as well as various patients positioning in the theatre under her supervision. She assessed my improvement on the technique from time to time until I was deemed competent. When we do a patient transfer, usually the anesthetist would lead the team. Teams should have an agreed leader to direct them. That way everyone involved will know what to do, and when (Bromhead, 2013). As a start, the leader gives a command “Ready, steady, roll”, the patient is rolled to his side while the pat slide and sliding sheet are inserted. Once the pat slide and sliding sheet are under the patient, the team is now ready to transfer the patient to the other side using the command “Ready, steady, slide”. With ease, I was able to facilitate patient transfer with my …show more content…

Everyone is independently aware of their responsibilities without having someone to constantly remind them. The NMC (2002) states that “nurses have a duty to identify risks to patients and to work with team members to promote environments that are conducive to safe practice. Everyone also values teamwork which made any work load a lot easier to accomplish”.

Analysis
As much as I want to get things done quickly, I realized that I should assess a situation properly and give importance to my own safety as well. Even how little a task could be, not doing the proper techniques and utilizing appropriate equipments could strain the body which could cause great injuries in the long run. Musculoskeletal injuries occur frequently at work in the UK and have considerable personal and economic implications. An estimated 572,000 musculoskeletal injuries occurred in the period 2009/2010 affecting mainly the back and upper limbs or neck (HSE, 2010).

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