Moving and handling people is one of the main causes of back, shoulder and neck injuries among nurses, healthcare assistants, porters and care workers. Unlike boxes, patients move unpredictably, cannot always help, and may be distressed or unwell. That is why the law expects careful planning, the right equipment and enough staff.
What does the law require?
The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 set a clear order of duties. Employers must avoid hazardous manual handling so far as reasonably practicable. Where it cannot be avoided, they must carry out a suitable risk assessment and take steps to reduce the risk of injury to the lowest level reasonably practicable. In healthcare this normally means individual moving and handling plans for patients, hoists, slide sheets, standing aids and other equipment, enough trained staff for each transfer, and regular training.
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 also apply, for example to keep hoists and slings safe and maintained.
What if the right equipment was not available?
If the patient's handling plan or the ward risk assessment called for a hoist, slide sheet or second member of staff, and it was not available, the employer is likely to have breached its duty. Being told to carry out a transfer anyway, because the hoist was broken or out of reach, is a common feature of successful claims.
What if the ward was understaffed?
Low staffing is not a defence. If a safe transfer needed two or more people and the employer had not provided them, that can amount to a breach. The key question is whether a properly staffed, properly equipped transfer would probably have avoided your injury.
Does it matter that I agreed to do the transfer?
Usually not. Healthcare workers are under real pressure to get patients moved. An employer cannot rely on a worker going along with an unsafe system that the employer created.
What sick pay and benefits might apply?
NHS staff on Agenda for Change terms receive contractual sick pay that depends on length of service, and may be eligible for the NHS Injury Allowance where an injury is wholly or mainly attributable to NHS work. Pay lost beyond what you received can be recovered in a compensation claim. Care workers in the private sector should check their contracts. See do I get full pay if injured at work?.
Related risks in healthcare
Healthcare workers also face needlestick injuries and violence from patients. See needlestick injury claims, workplace assault claims and the wider guide to healthcare and care worker injury claims.
Sources
Browse every plain-English guide in the work accident guides hub, or read the main guide to how a claim works.
This guide is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Every claim turns on its own facts. For advice about your specific situation, speak to a regulated solicitor.