Plus Size Turning Project Situation and background One of the inpatient rehabilitation units at Hertfordshire Community Trust has been the designated plus size rehabilitation unit since 2018. In 2021, the hospital underwent extensive building redesign and building adaptation to better manage plus size patients care. This included door widening for evacuation purposes, installation of track and ceiling hoisting, purpose built larger isolation rooms and adapted bathrooms. All substantial staff underwent plus size moving and handling training and plus size moving and handling equipment has been purchased / appropriate procurement contracts have been set up so equipment can be rented as and when needed. In 2024, it was decided the unit would be commissioned to have 6 plus size patients in the unit at any one time, which is an increase on the 4 commissioned beds in previous years. There was an increase in the number of staff related moving and handling injuries at the unit with managing plus size patients personal care in the bed, pad changes in the bed and lye to sit on edge of bed transfers. There were 4 nursing staff injuries and one therapy staff injury in a 3- month period (May - July) 2024. The Occupational Therapy Lead Caroline Benton and Quality Lead for inpatient beds, Rose Aknai were tasked with exploring a piece of equipment to support safer moving and handling of plus size patients to reduce staff injuries. This report details our experience with the Q2 Roller. Method Root cause analysis – Fishbone diagram A root cause analysis was carried out to identify the cause of staff injuries. See appendix 1 for Fishbone Diagram. Using the Fishbone diagram, the following causes were identified as the reason for increased injuries: • When repositioning in the bed: Plus size patients frequently have reduced range of movement in their shoulders, so they are unable to reach across their bodies to grab hold of a bed lever to assist with turning themselves onto their side. They are subsequently unable hold their weight in a side lying position in the bed. 2- 4 staff are needed to assist with re-positioning a plus size patient in the bed. These 1
Download PDF file
Build your own flipbook