In Australia, aged care and disability organisations provide support for people who are unable to perform tasks for themselves as a result of disability or the ageing process. I believe there is a vast difference between passive care that can further disable a person – and active care that enables the person. Providing passive care involves […]

The need for transport Transporting people with a disability or who are ageing is a fundamental service provided by the vast majority of disability and aged care providers. Transport connects people between their home life and their community. It’s the bridge for life, freedom, connection and happiness. Without transport, people can become isolated and more […]

Manual handling issues with people  with  disabilities  When working in the care and disability industry, many people only associate manual handling challenges in relation to people living with physical disabilities. We have long been aware of the need to lift a person out of bed, assisting to shower and perhaps get into their wheelchair to […]

Two care workers assisting a person with a disability with standing transfers always sounds alarm bells for me. I completed an assessment this week where a 90 year old lady was being assisted with standing transfers.   The second care worker was recently assigned by the agency as the first worker felt it was too […]

I wanted to present a study this week to show an example of objective assessment of equipment solutions for manual handling. Weiner et al. (2017).  Repositioning a passive patient in bed:  Choosing an ergonomically advantageous assistive device.  Applied Ergonomics, 60 (2017), 22-29.  I love looking at studies like this as although they are for research […]

I was completing a manual handling assessment a few months ago with a client with a physical and intellectual disability.  I was asked to come in and assess whether the service was a one person or a two-person service as staff were starting to have difficulty.  I concluded that, in its current state, two people […]

Risk assessment is a process used in a variety of different industries to solve problems.  It involves three-steps including identification, assessment and control.  I have worked and lectured in two very different areas of practice where risk assessment is used, but it is implemented very differently.  Manual handling is one and mental health is the […]