The Occupational Health of Caregivers

At Seating Matters, not only do we care about the patients seated in our chairs, but also the welfare and well-being of the staff caring for these patients.

Each day hospital staff and caregivers are put under a great amount of stress and strain from having to reposition and manoeuvre patients manually.

Falls and sliding are common occurrences if a patient does not have adequate equipment to support them. When these patients fall or need transferred from one piece of equipment to another this entails a great amount of physical work and manual handling for the staff member.

To limit the amount of patient handling required it is essential that the correct equipment is in place. However, not only are the devices important, but also is the knowledge the staff members have as to how to use it correctly to maximise the effectiveness.

The correct use of seating can definitely can play a role in dramatically reducing manual handling and at Seating Matters, we are happy to be a partner with you to achieve this.

On a regular basis, we see the use of incorrect equipment, which results in staff injury. This has a detrimental effect to the environment they are working in as long term absence can be the outcome of an injury. Long term sick leave will result in a shortage of staff and additional strain.  

The mental health and wellbeing of staff should be taken into consideration. Long term sick leave can affect the mental well-being of the staff member injured. Improper manual handling procedures can have a knock on effect to healthcare settings and a negative impact on the patients, work colleagues and an increase to the cost of care, length of patient stays required and staff absence.

Seating Matters are skilled in the areas of falls prevention, in moving and handling, in education and equipment provision for healthcare settings.

If we can help you in any of these areas please feel free to contact us.

Patient Handling

        

** This post was originally published on http://blog.seatingmatters.com/occupational-health-of-caregivers

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