If a client has fallen and is unable to get up by themselves without assistance, must care organisation tell their staff to dial 999 and not attempt to get them off the floor, as they have a “no lifting” policy?

Is it legal and/or appropriate for care organisations to have this kind of blanket “no lifting” policy?

Terry

Answered by Sheila Scott

Dear Terry,

Thank you for your question.

If you have a No Lifting Policy then you may need to review what this means.

This is a decision taken by the service provider.

I have checked with the Health and Safety Executive and they have some really useful information on their website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/msd/faq-manhand.htm

One of the Frequently Asked Questions on their website is Is there such a thing as a ‘no lifting’ policy?

Answer: The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (as amended) do not prohibit individual types of manual handling or endorse ‘no lifting’ policies. However, manual handling should be limited to those times when it cannot be avoided and only where the risk has been assessed and minimised. Employers cannot simply pass on the risk to employees and a balanced approach to risk is advocated to ensure that workers are not required to perform tasks that put them at unreasonable risk.

I hope this is helpful.

Best wishes.

Sheila