Notably for activities during basic care, nursing staff often have to lean forward, for example to be able to wash patients’ legs or feet. High weights are often moved and the body reacts to unfavorable working angles in the medium and long term with symptoms and injuries – a consequence of excessive and one-sided loads during lifting and repositioning.
In our series, we would like to give you tips and tricks for back-friendly execution of daily routine care. Today the support in changing seats:
Preparation of the resident
• The foot which is in the desired direction of movement is moved forward, the other to the rear
• The knee that is now in front is stabilised by the nursing staff’s knees
Preparation for nursing staff
• Offset, slightly crouched stance
• The back arm, seen from the direction of movement, is placed under the crook of the arm
• The resident’s upper body is leaned forward
• The upper body of the nursing staff is placed as close as possible against the resident’s shoulder girdle
Changing seats
• The nursing staff’s body weight is moved backwards
• Once the resident’s buttocks rise, the nursing staff rises
• The nursing staff turns on his feet in the direction of the new seat
• The nursing staff slowly presses the resident’s hips backwards to put them back again
Here are all steps in a video:
