Workbook 15 Transfers

NHS Training for Physiotherapy Support Workers
Workbook 15 | Transfers
15.3 Lying–sitting transfer
As therapists, one of the most important parts of our role is to promote physical
independence.
As a support worker, you may be involved in practicing everyday tasks with a patient to
enable them to be independent again.
A simple but important task is the ability to move around the bed and get in and out.
There are aids to assist with this if required, but our concern here is to assist a patient to get
up from lying by re-educating a normal sequence of movement.
You would only do these activities with a patient who has been assessed as capable by
the therapist. You must not attempt this with a patient who cannot participate.
Activity
With your supervising therapist, have a look at how you would sit up to sit from lying on
your back. Watch a couple of colleagues do the movement.
Describe what they do
You may notice that the person turns their head to the side, then rolls over bringing the rest
of their body with them, whilst pushing up onto the elbow, sitting up and swinging the legs
over the side of the bed.
There will be variations – some will do it differently, but the components above
are common.
Workbook 15 Page 4