admin@heartsathomecare.co.uk 01425 657329
Hearts at Home Care
Moving & Handling Community Care
What is Moving & Handling Community Care?
Moving and handling is used to describe the safe and proper manual handling of people and objects, such as lifting, carrying, pushing and pulling. In community care, this is mainly expressed when manoeuvring our service users around their home, this enables them to still able to live at home and be as independent as possible. This could be with the help of one or two carers, and sometimes with the use of equipment, that has been assessed by an Occupation Therapist.
Moving and handling can be used to support a service user to:
- Getting in and out of bed
- To support with showering, personal care and support in bed
- Using the restroom
- Walking from one place to another, or moving
- Sitting down and standing up
- Getting in and out of vehicles
- To position into a safe and comfortable position and to support pressure relief
Safe ways of working
At Hearts at Home Care the goal of using moving and handling equipment and practices is to ensure that we are keeping our service users, and staff, safe at all times, and the client is still able to move around their home and have better enrichment in life. Before starting any moving and handling, we must first complete an assessment and build a care plan that is tailored to the service user's needs, with the correct risk assessments in place, that will detail the use of the equipment, the OT input and the risks that we need to mitigate to use it safely.
Types of Moving & Handling Equipment
There are many types of equipment that we use with our service users, at Hearts at Home Care, some of these are to be manned and used by one person and some will require two members of staff to operate.
Our staff are unable to use any equipment that has not been assessed and provided by an OT for the service user.
- Stand aid (turn table), non electrical – This piece of equipment can be used one or two individuals, some service users will have a belt attached and others may not, each turn table can have different features, for example some may have wheels that allow you to move the equipment and service user around and some you will only be able to stand and turn the client from A to B.
- Quickmove, Sara Stedy, Mackworth, non electrical – These standing aids are built for individuals who can weight bear, and can pull themselves up, but cannot stand for a longer period of time, it allows the service user to sit back down and be moved from one place to another and particularly for clients who are unable to take steps or walk.
- Standing hoist, electrical – A standing hoist will support a service user to stand and sit down, this will support a client who is able to weight bear, but may not be able to have the strength to pull themselves up, or walk a distance. There will be a supportive sling that will be placed around the service user, as they are pulled up electrically by the hoist.
- Full hoist, electrical – This hoist is an electrical piece of equipment that is operated by two members of staff, the service user is unable to weight bear and there will be either a full body sling or access sling in place to support the client, this attaches to the hoist and the hoist will fully lift the service user, the hoist will then be operated by two people to place the client into a correct and safe position.
There are other pieces of equipment that individuals can use, these are pieces of equipment that the service user can independently use, but still allows them to lead an independent life at home. These include walking frames, walking sticks and wheelchairs.
Follow up
Service users will continually be monitored when using equipment, if there are any further deterioration, we will involve an OT, who will make further assessments to ensure that we are able to support the client in a safe way. Our Training & Development Manager will then have to go out and observe the new equipment or safe ways of working, and will update the care plan and risk assessments for our staff to follow.
What to do if you feel you need help with moving and handling
If you feel you need help with moving and handling or you are struggling with your mobility, give the office a call on the below phone number, or email us, one of the care team will contact you back and book in an assessment and discuss your needs and how Hearts at Home Care can support you.
Hearts at Home Care are privileged to own a very large in-house training facility, which includes all moving and handling equipment for all staff members and have regular visits from other health professional, including Tissue Viability Nurses into these facilities for further bespoke training.
Tel: (01425) 657329
Email: admin@heartsathomecare.co.uk
Emma Edwards
Registered Manager