It was back in 2005 when Texas became the first state in the USA to introduce safe patient handling laws. Since then, several states have followed suit and more still are giving serious consideration to protecting their care staff.
By July 1, 2010, every clinical setting in Minnesota where patients are moved will be required to develop a written safe patient handling plan. And they must achieve, by Jan. 1, 2012, the goal of ensuring safe handling of patients by minimizing manual lifting of patients by direct patient care workers and by utilizing safe patient handling equipment, according to a law taking effect today in the state.
There is a real drive in the USA towards bringing this issue to the fore and as a result, the Occupational Health & Safety Association has teamed up with the American Physical Therapy Association to focus on the prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders and the safe handling of patients in 6 states in the mid-west.
It is good to see other countries taking this subject seriously and no doubt, this will further the concept of safe patient handling, of which, the UK has been the forerunner since the first edition of the “handling of patients” published in 1981. Common law cases were also starting to be “written” into the UK culture about the same time, effectively legally classifying certain practices to unsafe systems of work.
The theme of the conference at the national back exchange in September is the key to international success.
http://ohsonline.com/articles/2009/08/01/safe-patient-handling-law-takes-effect-in-minnesota.aspx
http://www.nationalbackexchange.org/conference_2009/index.ht ml
Organisations like the OHSA are driving forward the concept of safe patient handling.
