NHSScotland 'Once for Scotland' Workforce Policies - Managing Health at Work - Public Consultation

8. Manual Handling Policy

8.1. Aim

8.1.1. The policy aims to make sure everyone is aware of their responsibility in line with health and safety legislation. The policy also provides a framework to:

• Make sure all employees are aware of and compliant with safe manual handling practice
• Reduce the risks associated with manual handling
• Support staff who have existing Musculo-skeletal symptoms

8.2. Scope

8.2.1. This policy applies to all employees. It also applies to bank, secondees, agency, sessional workers, volunteers, contractors, and those on placement, such as trainees, students, or individuals undertaking work experience.

8.2.2. Reference to employees applies to all these groups unless otherwise stated.

8.2.3. This policy complies with current legislation and meets the aims of the Public Sector Equality Duty of the Equality Act 2010

8.3. Definitions

8.3.1. Manual handling is the term is used to describe operations involving the transporting or supporting of a load, including the lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling, carrying, supporting or moving of an object by hand or bodily force Manual Handling Operations Regulations (1992).

8.3.2. The Scottish Manual Handling Passport Scheme (2014) sets a standard approach for education, skills and knowledge across the NHS in Scotland. It enables employees to transfer their skills without the need for additional unnecessary training when moving between boards.

8.3.3. See: The Scottish Manual Handling Passport Scheme

8.4. Roles and responsibilities

8.4.1. There is a range of standard expectations which underpin all policies. Read more about standard roles and responsibilities. In addition, the following specific responsibilities apply to this policy.

8.4.2. Employer

8.4.3. The employer will:

• Recognise that the Chief Executive has overall responsibility for all health and safety matters within their health board
• Comply with all legislative requirements including any data collection and reporting.
• Promote education and training of manual handling.
• Make sure that provisions are in place for employee training and expert advice on manual handling issues.
• Make sure that manual handling risks are identified and considered when designing new facilities, buying of equipment or new work practices.

8.4.4. Manager

8.4.5. The manager will:

• Make sure that employees in their team are appropriately trained in manual handling.
• Be aware of manual handling training and support networks.
• Identify manual-handling risks within their area of responsibility and explore measures to reduce risk.
• Make sure that the required documentation and process is completed for all injuries or near misses involving manual handling (including RIDDOR reportable incidents).

8.4.6. Employee

8.4.7. The employee will:

• Make sure their manual handling training is up to date.
• Take reasonable care for their own safety and that of colleagues and patients.
• Make full and proper use of equipment provided.
• Follow safe systems of work including precautions and procedures set up for avoiding or reducing the risk of musculo-skeletal injury.
• Make sure that the necessary documentation is completed for example risk assessments.
• Report any problems or shortcomings in the risk assessment or safe system to their manager.

8.5. Safe Manual Handling Practice

8.5.1. All health boards are responsible for adhering to health and safety legislation which would include:

• Training
• Maintaining equipment
• Risk Assessments
• Reporting and monitoring

8.6. Identifying Manual Handling Risks

8.6.1. Moving and handling risk assessments help identify where injuries could occur and what to do to prevent them. This can be task or person specific. It will include requirements under other workforce policies for example NHSScotland maternity policy.

8.6.2. A suitable and sufficient risk assessment of associated risk of ‘harm’ arising from moving and handling tasks should be carried out. Risk assessments must be carried out by an appropriately trained individual.

8.6.3. A written assessment of moving and handling tasks or activities with associated significant residual risk of harm should be completed.

8.7. Reducing Manual Handling Risks

8.7.1. Risk assessments will be used to inform the safe systems of work to be put in place including any associated training needs. Specialist advice should be accessed when required.

8.8. Monitoring and Review

8.8.1. Regularly reviewing the workplace, equipment and procedures in relation to existing generic risk assessments to make sure they are up to date and where new risks are identified, undertake risk assessments. Risk assessments should be reviewed periodically and whenever circumstances change to make sure they remain current.

8.8.2. Data which is collected should be used to monitor the policy’s implementation.

8.9. Supporting documentation

It is proposed that the supporting documents listed below will be developed to support the policy. Supporting documents are not part of the consultation. These will be drafted following the consultation when responses have been analysed and the policy is developed in a final draft.

• Employee guide
  Descriptor: guide to help employees use and understand the Manual Handling Policy.

• Manager guide
  Descriptor: guide to help managers use and understand the Manual Handling Policy.

8.10 Consultation questions

We are inviting responses to this consultation using the Scottish Government’s consultation hub. The following questions are set.

In your response, all questions have the option to answer yes or no. You are invited to provide further comment in a free text box. If you wish to make specific reference to a section of the policy, please quote the relevant numbered line in this consultation document.

1. Do you feel there are any gaps in the policy?

2. Do you feel there are any gaps in the proposed list of supporting documents?

3. Do you have any other comments to make on the policy?

4. Do you have any views on the potential impacts of this policy on equalities groups?

It is against the law to discriminate against someone because of: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. These are protected characteristics under the Equality Act, 2010.