On 26 October WorkSafe launched their new Moving People Safely guidance aimed at employers working in healthcare, social assistance, and other professions where people are moved.
The guidance provides employers with the education, information, and guidance on OHS requirements for safe manual handling in alignment with relevant legislation. It is intended as an educational resource and is not an operational manual and is also available as a downloadable PDF..
Employers must provide employees (including independent contractors and employees of contractors) with the information, instruction and training needed to enable them to do their work in a way that is safe and without risks to health.
The Moving people safely guidance covers every aspect of moving people who are in care for treatment, with considerations for people with different degrees of mobility and ways of moving. It also highlights that Moving people is hazardous manual handling if it involves repeated or sustained application of force, sustained awkward postures, repetitive movements, the use of high force, exposure to sustained vibration.
The guidance details the employer’s duty to identify, assess and manage hazards, and reminds employers of the hazardous manual handling regulation requirement to eliminate or reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disorders by eliminating or reducing the hazards in line with the hierarchy of control.
Specific topics covered in the guidance include:
- · Preparing for safe moves
- · Moving people up and down in bed
- · Sitting a person up in bed or to a seated bedside position
- · Turning rolling or repositioning a person in bed
- · Limb lifting and repositioning
- · Moving a person between a bed and a chair
- · Moving a seated person to another piece of furniture or equipment
- · Walking with a person
- · Moving a person who is supine from one pieced of equipment to another
- · Moving a person in a wheelchair or mobility chair
- · Moving a person between a wheelchair and a vehicle
- · Moving and unconscious person from a seated position
- · Moving a person off the floor
- · Transporting mechanical aids and assistive devices
You can learn more about the hazardous manual handling aspects of moving people at WorkSafe’s Hazardous manual handling page.
Read more: Moving people safely | WorkSafe Victoria