Rank: Guest 
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Posted By sharna pane
hi
i'm a teaching assistant who has completed manual handling trainers training. I am working for my lea, training assistants in mainstream and special schools. Have worked as a TA in current position for 17 years, in a school with pupils aged 4-18 with a wide variety of disabilities. Part of my work involves advising mainstream staff with training but little or no hands on experience with particular children.
My problem is the 2 person lift of children, below the guideline weight, or just above. staff that are waiting on hoists and slings are finding on training that they carry out a barred lift by holding underarm. Have info on what is the prescribed right way, one person to support behind back with one hand and under bottom with other whilst other person supports legs but have found myself person at top end is taking more of the weight. Have consulted with our resident physios but they tend to still use the barred method. OT I have access to says yes it is a problem but offered no real help. Im getting grief from physios who say its fine for me to be telling people they need hoists ,slings etc but where's the money coming from. Im worried that if i advise people to carry on lifting in a way that I know to be barred until hoists etc arrive im leaving myself, child concerned and staff vunerable. ANY THOUGHTS!
Sharna
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Rank: Guest
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Posted By Frank Hallett
Hi Sharna
You are quite right to worry about the issues of lifting people full stop.
The physios who dismiss your legitimate requests for handling equipment and aids with the observations such as "where's the money coming from" would appear to need an awareness session on the real meanings of "Reasonably Practicable" - especially in application to the non-negotiable requirement in the MH Regs for the employer to remove any "hazardous" manual handling activity before even considering what training may be necessary to provide an acceptable level of safety to those who must undertake those tasks that it isn't reasonably practicable to remove or mitigate in any other way.
Tell those who won't respond effectively that they will be the ones who have to answer to the enforcers for failing to address the requirements of the MH regs and remind them that it's Criminal, not Civil, Law.
Oh yeah, the 2 handed lift is about right; and you do have to ensure that the capability of both handlers is considered. Personally, I always found that the stronger of the 2 should be in charge of the lift and positioned so that they can take the majority of the weight if necessay.
Frank Hallett
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