SafeWork SA are preparing to audit residential aged care facilities in an effort to reduce the risk to workers due to injuries caused by manual handling tasks.
During June and July, SafeWork SA’s inspectors will be out in force, ensuring compliance with work health and safety legislation. They will also be checking measures required to control the risks associated with resident handling.
More than half of manual handling injuries in aged care facilities happen when workers move residents. The Australian Government has estimated that the number of aged care workers in Australia will increase from 352,100 in 2012, to 827,100 in 2050.
The routine audits will focus on manual handling procedures, in conjunction with SafeWork SA’s regular work, as South Australia’s workplace safety regulator.
SafeWork SA’s Acting Executive Director, Dini Soulio, said the “inspectors will be looking at a range of things in the aged care sector, including resident aids and equipment, systems for assessing residents for mobility aids and environmental factors such as building access. They will also be checking that there are appropriate injury reporting mechanisms for nurses, carers and others involved in the care of residents and that, in an overall sense, there is a ‘safety first’ workplace culture.”
Manual Handling Tasks
Manual handling covers a wide range of activities, including any activity that requires:
- Lifting
- Lowering
- Pushing
- Pulling
- Carrying
- Moving, holding or retraining any person, animal or object
Most tasks in any workplace has some degree of manual handling. Therefore, even though SafeWork SA’s focus will be on residential aged care facilities, all workplaces are at risk of manual handling injuries if work tasks are not managed correctly.
WLSS help businesses, including residential aged care facilities, to ensure the hazards associated with manual handling are managed, and ideally reduced to prevent injury to workers. If you need help with manual handling practices in your workplace, contact us.
