Looking for your experience with safe patient handling programs

[PTvisitor]

Hello-

I am a PT at a small, rural hospital working on implementing a safe patient handling program. Right now our facility has a pretty good culture of safety for both patients and staff but I want to improve the day to day safety for our nursing staff (and other patient care staff)

Some of our more challenging areas are in the ED, radiology department, and OB. It seems that many of the nursing staff are too willing to "sacrifice" their own safety for the patients but often times it's just because that's they way they've "always done it". Other times the staff is truly not aware of the safety concerns of how patients are being moved.

One of the policy changes that I am pushing for is a #35 lifting limit which will then require short track ceiling lifts in at least some of the ED, OB and radiology rooms as well as a change in or lateral transfers. We will also need some specific algorithms or other assessment tools for nursing staff to use to determine appropriate method of transfer.

My questions for you are:

1) What assessment tools to determine safe transfer method do you use (or have used) that have been easy to use, convenient, etc . The VA algorithms look good but is something more general easier to actually use in your day to day work flow?

2) How can I facilitate a change in thought process in our OB and ED nurses so that they will see that safe transfers are good for both them and the patients.

3) What are some ideas to make sure that using the equipment is just as convenient and efficient as not using it. Realistically, equipment does no good when it's too far down the hall to be easily grabbed and used

4) Have you used friction reducing devices such as the Hover Matt? How do you like them? How are they logistically used at your facility? One thought is to have them go out on the ambulances and they would stay with the patient from home to ED to Med Surg- has anyone seen that?

5) What have you seen in radiology departments for safe patient handling? One challenge is that our staff are not really formally educated in transfers and safe handling so they don't always seen the safety concerns. We do inservicing with these departments but it still doesn't seem to be enough. How does the radiology staff know how to transfer a patient in you facility? What if the patients are coming in through the ED or even straight from the community?

6) Anything else you would offer as advice?

Thank you! I am fortunate to work in a great facility that already does many things right. I not only consider myself an advocate for the patients but also for my fellow co-workers, so I want to do this right and make sure it's successful.