Health and safety whilst pregnant and working in residential home..

[Dalrymps]

I am 23 wks pregnant and have just returned to work after quite a while off sick due to all
day morning sickness.

My shift is 5-8pm/ 5-9.30pm some days. Duties include

-putting elderly residents to bed- washing, changing clothes, toileting then lifting in to bed either manually or using a hoist.

• washing up from tea time
• laundry
• setting the tables for breakfast the next day
• making suppers

I am finding it quite tiring even though it's only a short shift. There are usually just enough members of staff to get it all done. I am suffering from pregnancy induced sciatica in my leg which is always aggravated by the time
I go home at the end of my shift.

Anyway, my issue is this.. My first few shifts back I was an extra on the shift and so was able to do what I could manage which was the washing up, laundry and suppers. I also washed some residents (hands and faces) and changed their top half ready for bed then the other staff lifted/hoisted said residents in to bed.

Now the last shift I did, I wasn't an extra and so felt under pressure to be helping more with putting in to bed and was asked to bath one resident on my own.
I said I wasn't sure about bathing the resident as I was worried if they were to slip or something that I might have injured myself trying to catch them for instance. Another staff member very grumpily agreed to do it instead.

My manager keeps saying to use the hoist of I have to lift anyone and seems to think this will mean I don't have to exert myself and should be fine. However, the hoists we use are designed to be used on smooth hospital type flooring and the whole residential home is carpeted. This means that I (and others) find it very strenuous to push the hoist and steer it as the wheels don't run smoothly, it's especially heavy with a resident attached to it and I can feel it pulling at my back muscles and stomach and making my sciatica worse.

Sorry this is long, I will get to the point.

My manager said to call her if I have any problems (she has left when my shift starts) so I was wondering whether it seems reasonable for me to say I will do washing up, laundry, suppers, set tables, wash and dress top half of residents but that I won't use the hoist or do any lifting.

I think its already agreed I shouldn't lift anyway but she keeps saying 'whatever you do make sure you use the hoist' as if that's the easy option and I'm really not finding that to be the case I'm a little worried about calling her incase she just thinks I'm being silly about it..

I would have to be an extra on every shift really if I wasn't doing any hoisting as the rules are that two people should be present when it is used at all times. So I'm also worried this will be unsatisfactory.

She also has said that I should make sure I don't do anything to jeopardise my health and safety and to let her know the next mornings if I've had any problems on shift. I don't really feel comfortable with this though as I work with different people every shift and I feel uncomfortable about having to assert myself and explain myself over and over again. Some people I work with ate understanding but others are downright rude about it and I don't feel it's fair that the line or what I can and can't do is so blurred and I am responsible for letting all the different members of staff know.

It would be easier if she just said to me I can do everything but lifting and hoisting then I can just say to staff that word has come from the boss and get less of the backlash myself.

Any advice appreciated (if you managed to read this far!)

Have they done a risk assesment? As they have to do this for every pregnant employee and repeat once or twice throught the pregnancy as dutys change etc.

Not really no, they've just said to not lift and make sure I use the hoists and let them know of I have any probs.

Bump..

Anyone?

Have you asked for a risk assessment? You should have one and should ask for one, but otherwise it sounds as though your manager is doing ok. She's stressed you mustn't jeopardize your health and safety, must use the equipment provided and must contact her if you are concerned. You are concerned, so rather than hoping she will realize that by herself, do as she asked and let her know your concerns, and ask for a risk assessment at the same time. You could also ask her to communicate whatever is agreed to other staff if you're concerned about that, but this isn't going to get resolved without speaking to her.

Flowery - I know what you're saying. I will have to speak to her and raise my concerns.

Re the risk assessment though, I feel it's a little late for this and therefore don't feel comfortable asking for one. To be honest I shouldn't have to ask for one, my employer should know its necessary.

I suppose whats also annoying me is that my manager doesn't seem to really have any idea what my job entails and as she's never there when I'm working it's hard for her to get an idea of how things go.

For instance its easy enough for her to say 'just use the hoist' but in reality there aren't enough staff to be able to use the hoist for every little lift we do. If we pushed the hoist backwards and forwards to everyone's room all evening we wouldn't get everything done by the end of our shift. Therefore, me insisting someone uses the hoist when we're already in a residents bedroom and having to change their bed sheets cause they're wet for example, would seem 'over the top' and waste valuable time so that person would get frustrated with me. I was in this situation tonight and I ended up just lifting the resident out of the bed and back in with the other staff member as she was quite light and I didn't want to cause a fuss and we didn't have much time left.

I managed ok but I was still putting myself at risk. I know I could have insisted but its just not practical. Plus, I don't want all te staff I work with getting arsey with me, it doesn't make for a very nice working environment. Also, the staff know I'm not supposed to lift but they still say things like 'will you be ok to just lift so and so on to the bed?'.

It's always 'just' a little lift here and a little one there. I can't say no all the time, it's just awkward

It's never too late for a risk assessment especially as you should be reassessed if circumstances change in anyway.
I was reassessed all the way through pregnancy (pregnant women on a building site are quite the curiosity)
State concerns firmly but calmly. If the sciatica is causing real issues then you need to go back to your doctor and get further advice on what is and isn't suitable. See if you can get an appointment with a pregnancy physio at the hospital (some to walk in clinics) as they may be able to give you specific advice

You do need to ask for a risk assessment, even though you feel uncomfortable asking.

Your manager does sound like they have been acting responsibly, and while in theory, no one does any lifting, in practice that is not strictly true - neither you nor any one else should be lifting someone out of bed, although you may well assist them to stand and get into the the chair. There are lots of other manual handling aids as well as hoists, that may be helpful - perhaps they could get a manual handling specialist in for some advice?

There is no need to get someone out of bed to change the sheets though - don't you roll them, tuck new sheet in then roll them back anyway? (am a nurse)

Yes, we could have rolled her though the bed underneath her was soaking. I was decided it would be quicker just to sit her in her chair and change the bed and her then lift her back in.. She can stand but needs lifting in to bed.

Yes your employer shouldn't need prompting to do a risk assessment. But surely the most important thing for you and baby is that you actually get one, and asking for it will get one quicker than sitting there stewing about it.

"I suppose whats also annoying me is that my manager doesn't seem to really have any idea what my job entails and as she's never there when I'm working it's hard for her to get an idea of how things go. "

Surely this is exactly the reason why you need to actually tell your manager your concerns? She is aware she doesn't know about your job and has specifically asked you to tell her of any problems and concerns.

You need to raise some points with you manager

• CQC would be very interested to hear the home is not sticking to the MH plans for the residents that puts both them and staff at risk of injury.

• HSE would be interested to hear that no riosk assessment for a pregnant employee and MH plans not being adhered to on advice of management

• I am sure the home want to avoid a safeguarding alert due to the above points

How much training have you had in lifting? One of your comments surprised me - you would need to catch a resident - have you not been taught that actually you don't catch and it's far safer to let them fall? Sounds like there are a few issues here with h and s. You definetly need to ask for a risk assessment and if not happy ask for occupational health to assess what you can and cant do.

I am aware that we are not supposed to catch residents, should have made that clear. What I meant was that sometimes, you react before thinking. I once had a resident lurch forward on her seat whilst moving the seat in to the bath, she had a strap around her but I instinctively reached out to stop her iyswim.

Moving and handling training I had was a joke to be honest, a half hour chat where the overall gist was 'use your common sense and ask if you need any further help'. It was mentioned not to use the break on the hoist whilst lifting a resident in it as it has to be able to move to find its centre of gravity. It was mentioned we can use slide sheets to move residents but I have never been shown how. It was mentioned that each resident has different needs and we must constantly assess them to see if they are still ok to stand or need extra support or should be fully hoisted etc. In reality it depends which carer I am working with as to how people are moved. Some people are ridiculous and just want to get everything done as quickly as possible so lift anyone they can even when it's not safe. I have heard of such people lifting residents in to bed by themselves (on this occasion the carer was reported but the way she goes about her job still leaves a lot to be desired).

Some carers are mostly by the book and will use hoists when necessary but people still occasionally cut corners as the clock is ticking ad everyone has to be on bed by the time the night shift arrive.

It annoys me that people know how things are supposed to be done but as there is no one supervising their every move it doesn't always get done that way

I know I'm just babbling on and really I need to speak to the boss, which I will do but now I've started talking about it I've realised just how much it annoys me that things aren't done properly.

IMO it all boils down to money, if they had one or two carers on each shift then people wouldn't be rushing. Ok rant over for now..

One or two more carers on each shift..