Obesity epidemic risk to NHS staff

NHS employers have been advised to update their risk management procedures for the manual handling of patients due to the increase in obese patients being admitted to hospital.

This advice comes after statistics published recently showing that 40 per cent of absences, from work in the 1.3 million workforce of the NHS, was due to injuries sustained while manually handling and moving patients.

This not only costs the employees in physical costs, but also costs the hospitals in the region of £400 million per year in lost hours and cost of temporary staff.

NHS trusts, which now run the public sector hospitals in the UK, are legally responsible under the Health and Safety Act 1974 for their employees safety and health in the work place.

Any failure to comply with the legislation, or at least to be seen as complying with training and up to date work practices in place, could lead to costly legal action from injured members of staff.

As work and motion studies and previous case law shows, manual handling is an integral part of a nurse’s role, so can’t be dismissed as a new concept needing to initiate brand new training regimes.

With the rise in obesity levels predominately thought of as draining the resources of hospitals with its associated illnesses, the consequences of healthcare workers being expected to move and handle an ever more heavy population has been overlooked.

News brought to you by lowerpremium.co.uk

March 11^th 2008