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Wave: March / April 2010 - Winnipeg in motion

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Th<strong>in</strong>k<br />

Safety<br />

Concordia Hospital health-care aide Darlene<br />

Payette <strong>in</strong>jured herself on the job. Now she<br />

wants to make sure other health-care providers<br />

learn from her experience.<br />

By Susie Strachan<br />

Darlene Payette always tried to be careful when<br />

lift<strong>in</strong>g a patient <strong>in</strong>to a wheelchair.<br />

Then one day the health-care aide at<br />

Concordia Hospital was com<strong>in</strong>g to the end<br />

of a double-shift when a patient required<br />

a lift. Darlene was transferr<strong>in</strong>g the patient<br />

with another staff member when the patient<br />

shifted. Suddenly, Darlene felt a sharp<br />

pa<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> her back.<br />

Unfortunately, <strong>in</strong>jury on the job is not an<br />

uncommon occurrence among health-care<br />

providers. Every year, as many as 4,500<br />

workers <strong>in</strong>jure themselves, often by lift<strong>in</strong>g<br />

patients, mov<strong>in</strong>g them <strong>in</strong> bed or assum<strong>in</strong>g<br />

awkward postures when provid<strong>in</strong>g care.<br />

Now, the <strong>W<strong>in</strong>nipeg</strong> Health Region is<br />

work<strong>in</strong>g with the Workers Compensation<br />

Board and Manitoba Health through<br />

the SAFE Health Care program to raise<br />

awareness and help reduce the number of<br />

<strong>in</strong>juries on the job.<br />

Payette says it’s important for health-care<br />

workers to learn from her experience. She<br />

says all health-care workers should know<br />

their rights and responsibilities when it<br />

comes to on-the-job safety.<br />

It often comes down to many situations<br />

<strong>in</strong> which one tries to do too much<br />

without help. “I often was work<strong>in</strong>g two or<br />

three shifts <strong>in</strong> a row. I might have to look<br />

26 WAVE<br />

after seven patients by myself and five of<br />

those needed lifts. I knew these patients<br />

all needed more assistance to move them<br />

safely, but there wasn’t always someone<br />

around to help,” says Payette, who works<br />

<strong>in</strong> the subacute medical ward at Concordia,<br />

which often cares for frail, geriatric<br />

patients. “You get <strong>in</strong>to a position where you<br />

go ahead and try the transfer without help<br />

or the proper equipment.<br />

Not only does this put the patient <strong>in</strong><br />

danger of be<strong>in</strong>g hurt, it’s a bad practice that<br />

puts the worker <strong>in</strong> danger of be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>jured.<br />

Spra<strong>in</strong>ed wrists, twisted and stra<strong>in</strong>ed back<br />

muscles, and sore necks and shoulders<br />

are some of the <strong>in</strong>juries that health-care<br />

aides encounter when they try to get ahead<br />

of their workload. “Many people th<strong>in</strong>k<br />

they’ll get their work done faster. But we’re<br />

deal<strong>in</strong>g with patients, who may need two<br />

people lift<strong>in</strong>g them,” says Payette. “I’ve<br />

caught people do<strong>in</strong>g a two-person lift,<br />

one that called for them to use either the<br />

Sl<strong>in</strong>g Lift or the Sit-Stand Lift mach<strong>in</strong>e, by<br />

themselves without equipment, just to save<br />

a few moments. That’s a very unsafe way to<br />

do a transfer.”<br />

Payette says health-care providers need<br />

to slow down and follow the rules. Each<br />

patient’s chart should have a logo on it,<br />

which describes how the lifts should be<br />

done and what equipment should be used.<br />

This logo is the result of an assessment<br />

done by a physiotherapist and nurs<strong>in</strong>g staff.<br />

Health-care workers should not proceed<br />

with a transfer if they are unsure how to<br />

do it or do not have the right tools. They<br />

need to be empowered to stop and make<br />

sure they have all the proper <strong>in</strong>formation,<br />

equipment and support to do the transfer<br />

safely. Sadly, some health-care aides fail<br />

to recognize their rights and duties <strong>in</strong> this<br />

matter.<br />

Another area of oversight occurs when<br />

a health-care aide does get <strong>in</strong>jured. Many<br />

ignore the <strong>in</strong>jury, and hope that putt<strong>in</strong>g ice<br />

on the sore spot will help. Payette says the<br />

fear of the paperwork <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> report<strong>in</strong>g<br />

the <strong>in</strong>jury is an obstacle for many. But it<br />

is important to complete the <strong>in</strong>jury report<br />

immediately after <strong>in</strong>jury to ensure the <strong>in</strong>jured<br />

worker has access to benefits such as<br />

physiotherapy and salary coverage by the<br />

Workers Compensation Board.<br />

The SAFE Health Care program is designed<br />

to help health-care workers protect

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