2005 Finalist

Safety for all in a rehabilitation unit

Patients and staff are benefiting from a decision to adopt safer ways of handling patients at Southland Hospital's rehabilitation unit.

A move to a new unit gave staff the opportunity to introduce new handling aids to help reduce injury to staff and to give patients more independence.

The aim of the new unit is to achieve full compliance with the ACC Manual Handling Guidelines 2003 and so minimise the risk of injuries to all staff. Staff are following the guidelines with enthusiasm and instead of finding a change of working space to be stressful and difficult, they have met the challenge of moving towards a no-lift working environment.

A range of manual handling equipment is available and all staff are using the lifting aids without hesitation.

There has been a reduction in injuries to staff and patients say they feel more independent.

An obese stroke patient was able to move herself up the bed using a slide sheet and was thankful for the independence it gave her. She was reluctant to ask for repositioning as she realised it needed four nurses to lift her and they were at risk of hurting their backs.

Another partially paralysed patient, who had been relying on a wheelchair taxi for travel, was able to transfer in and out of the family car using a slide-board and proper positioning of the wheelchair.

Southland District Health Board
Contact: Marj Riley 03 2145 787
Email: Marj.riley@sdhb.govt.nz