According to the American Nurses Association (ANA) website, safe handling procedures for lifting, transferring and repositioning patients in the health care industry can reduce the risk of injury and accidents for both patients and health care professionals.
Injury
The ANA reports that manual lifting of patients in health care environments can increase the risks of patients falling and of skin tears. The use of lifting equipment and mechanical devices reduces the risk of injury for patients.
Lifting Equipment
Lifting equipment provides a patient with an increased sense of safety and security while allowing the patient to take part in movement based on his ability to use lifting equipment. The ANA recommends minimizing the amount of manual lifting and increasing the use of equipment for patient and professional safety.
Nurses
The Ergoweb website reports that manual lifting of patients in health care settings causes musculoskeletal injuries in nurses, resulting in around 12 percent of nurses leaving the profession. Washington State's Department of Labor & Industries indicates that nursing staff have one of the highest rates recorded in the state of back and shoulder injuries of occupational groups.
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