Authors (including presenting author) :
LIU YTC(1), LI MKJ(1), WONG WMB(2), LEE SN(2), CHAN CY(2), LEUNG HCW(3), LI SKK(3), MOK YCM(1)
Affiliation :
(1) Department of Physiotherapy, Pok Oi Hospital, (2) Department of Accident & Emergency, Pok Oi Hospital, (3) Occupational Safety & Health team, Human Resources Department, NTWC
Introduction :
Incidents of injuries on duty (IOD) which were related to manual handling operation (MHO) had been increased for staff of Department of Accident & Emergency (AED) of Pok Oi Hospital (POH) since 2016. The total sick leave days related to MHO had been markedly increased by 11867% in the past 3 years. The ever-changing, rapidly evolving working environment in AED poses risk of injury to staff involved in patient handling and transfer. Moreover, the transfer of patients from wheelchair to car or vice versa would also be one of the main concerns for frontline staff. Therefore, Physiotherapy Department of POH together with Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) team of NTWC had organized a tailor-made practical training session on patient handling and transfer to staff of AED in order to enhance their clinical safety at work.
Objectives :
(1) to enhance staff’s awareness of MHO safety; (2) to empower staff with proper patient handling skills through tailor-made practical training; (3) to prevent MHO-related IOD
Methodology :
Two identical practical training sessions on MHO were held on 29 October 2019 to staff of AED. Each session began with a short lecture about IOD incidents, risk factors that caused injuries and education of skills on patient transfer. Moreover, stretching exercises would be taught by physiotherapists to staff of AED in order to prevent injuries sustained from lack of flexibility of body parts. Then, the participants would have practical training under three scenarios which were (i) Bed to bed transfer and shifting patient on bed (ii) Bed to wheelchair transfer or vice versa (iii) Wheelchair to car transfer or vice versa. Transfer skills of the participants were assessed by physiotherapists or OSH trainers. At the end of the training session, evaluation forms were given to each participant to review the effectiveness of the training program.
Result & Outcome :
A total of 26 frontline AED staff (15 nurses and 11 supporting staff) attended the training program. 92% of them strongly agreed that the training program met their expectation and purpose of attending the training. 81% of them strongly agreed that the knowledge they learnt from the training could enhance their working capability. 100% of them strongly agreed that the knowledge learnt could be applied on their job duty. Practical skills of wheelchair to car transfer or vice versa are unique and crucial to AED staff. In the year following the training, the number of IOD cases related to MHO has dropped from 9 to 7, and the total number of sick leave days has significantly decreased from 359 days to 8 days.
A tailor-made practical training program greatly satisfied the needs and gained positive feedback from staff of AED. It improved the self-efficacy and techniques in manual handling of patients for staff of AED. The incidents of injury during manual handling and transfer of patients was markedly reduced.
