Moving and Handling Risk Assessments Explained

• Moving and handling risk assessments are legally required to protect both caregivers and service users from injury.
• Two types of assessments are needed: generic (covering the entire workplace) and individual (focused on a particular service user’s needs).
• Risk assessments must consider the task, caregiver’s abilities, patient’s needs and environmental hazards.
• Implementing control measures like training and different types of moving and handling equipment enhances safety and compliance in healthcare settings.

Moving and handling risk assessments are necessary under three separate but closely linked pieces of legislation.

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSWA) underpins health and safety law in the UK. Under the HSWA, employers are required to manage any health and safety risks posed by their work.

In the context of moving and handling people, staff are vulnerable to injury when moving service users by bodily force, so employers have a legal duty to prevent these injuries under the HSWA.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 is secondary legislation passed in support of the HSWA. It sets out in more detail what employers must do to fulfil their overarching duty of care. The first and most important duty is to carry out a risk assessment of work activities.

If risks related to moving and handling people are identified, there’s more specific legislation to comply with.

The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (MHOR) apply whenever workers are at risk of injury moving loads by bodily force. It might seem insensitive, but the term “load” legally describes people as well as objects.

These regulations set out how to make manual handling safe (an umbrella term that covers moving and handling since a load can be a person). Under MHOR, employers must:

• Avoid manual handling whenever possible
• Assess the risks of manual handling tasks that can’t be avoided
• Reduce identified risks by applying control measures

“Control measures” is another broad term that describes anything done to make the caregiver and service user safer during a move. Common examples include providing specialist equipment and training staff in safe moving and handling techniques.

MHOR also sets duties for employees. They must cooperate with their employer and follow agreed procedures that make them or the people in their care safer during moves. For example, if equipment is provided, it must be used as instructed.

Employees should also contribute to moving and handling risk assessments. They have a practical understanding of the hazards they face and the service users themselves, knowledge that’s invaluable for a detailed and effective risk assessment.

There are two types of moving and handling risk assessment: generic and individual.

Generic risk assessments cover the entire workplace and should set the template for safe moving and handling. This process starts with an evaluation of the type and frequency of moving and handling tasks happening in your care setting.

From here, you can identify generalised risks. Most risks on your generic assessment will relate to:

• Staffing
• Equipment
• Work environment
• Emergency moving and handling during a fire or similar critical situation

For example, you may identify an inadequate supply of hoists for the patient population or a lack of training among workers. You can then plan how to control these risks.

Individual assessments are specific to a patient or service user and should essentially act as a moving and handling plan.

To do this, they must cover the individual’s abilities and needs in all senses. For example, an assessment might note that a service user can stand unassisted, but they might find it painful. This fact also needs to be recorded, as it would be distressing to expect the patient to stand during transfers, even if they are physically able to.

Because effective individual assessments require an in-depth understanding of the service user, you should involve them as much as possible.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which enforces health and safety legislation in the UK, points to this individual risk assessment from NHS Scotland as a good example.

You must be competent to complete a moving and handling risk assessment. The HSE describes competence as the right combination of “training, skills, experience and knowledge” plus the ability to apply these qualities on the job.

This guide outlines how to carry out a moving and handling risk assessment, but it’s only an overview. It’s unsafe (and technically illegal) to assess the risks of moving a person without extensive training and experience.

First, consider the moving and handling work that needs to be done. Different tasks present different risks. For example, a routine transfer from a bed to a wheelchair is relatively straightforward, so less likely to cause injury to either party. Whereas helping a patient dress is more complex (i.e. risky) because of the time it takes and the effort involved. There’s also a high potential for the patient to be embarrassed or distressed.

For each specific task, evaluate the risks involved and how they can be eliminated or reduced.

The “individual” is the staff member completing the manual handling task. You need to account for their abilities and experience.

A worker who’s physically fit, well-trained and familiar with the service user is less likely to suffer or cause an injury carrying out a moving and handling task.

Of course, not all workers meet these criteria. If any team members have existing conditions that limit their capacity to move people by bodily force, they should be spared from the more demanding work. There are similar risks for new team members (inexperience is a consistent root cause of accidents). Novice staff will need training and close supervision before they can move patients or service users safely on their own.

Load describes the person being moved. Understanding your patients and service users is a requisite for safe, respectful handling.

Consider what they can and can’t do independently. You also need to account for other physical factors, including stamina or pain tolerance. For example, some patients and service users will need a gentler approach because they’re likely to experience discomfort during a move.

But don’t limit your assessment to physical attributes. You must take into account personal preferences and attitudes. Some might be determined to do as much as possible on their own while others are reluctant to participate.

Involve specialists at this stage. Physiotherapists and occupational therapists can provide an overview of someone’s physical abilities, while ergonomic specialists can advise on safe techniques for each specific move.

It’s also always best to actually talk to your patients and service users. If they can’t contribute, their family might be able to speak on their behalf.

Are there any environmental hazards where people are being moved? Generally, routes should be unobstructed, low-traffic and as direct as possible. They also need to be well-lit and in good repair (loose carpets, cracked tiles or other defects are unacceptable trip hazards).

Risk assessment findings (hazards and control measures) must be recorded if your organisation employs more than five people.

Smaller businesses aren’t subject to the same rule, but there’s no real advantage to leaving a risk assessment undocumented after going through the process.

Risk assessments must also be regularly reviewed. Sometimes, control measures are ineffective and need to be adjusted. Adjustments might also be needed as the needs of your patients and service users change. So, review your risk assessments regularly and whenever an individual’s situation changes.

Fundamentally, a moving and handling risk assessment is an exercise in making people safer. You systematically evaluate risks so you can plan how to eliminate or reduce them via control measures.

Control measures depend on the moving and handling risks in your workplace, but some of the most common include:

• Using different types of moving and handling equipment to reduce the effort needed to physically lift or transfer a person
• Regularly inspecting and servicing moving and handling equipment to avoid faults
• Designing the environment to accommodate moving and handling
• Providing training that covers safe moving and handling techniques

You should also develop a separate moving and handling policy. Your policy should include your organisation’s commitment to safety and outline how it will be met, with details on:

• Staff duties
• Staff training arrangements
• Systems for monitoring compliance
• Procedures for reporting accidents or concerns
• Equipment maintenance schedules
• Risk assessment review periods

Moving and handling risk assessments are central to compliance and safety in healthcare. But they won’t make a difference if staff are unable to implement them.

Our online Moving and Handling of People Training course provides comprehensive guidance on moving patients and service users in healthcare. It equips staff with the tools needed to recognise risks and apply the relevant control measures to prevent injury. Certified by CPD, this course ensures that health and social care workers understand how to make all patient moves respectful, dignified and safe for everyone involved.