What is ISO/TR 12296-Manual handling of people in the healthcare sector about?
ISO/TR 12296 is an international standard on ergonomics that discusses the manual handling of people in the healthcare sector to ensure protection to patients from the pain and suffering that come with MSD.
ISO/TR 12296 provides guidance for assessing the problems and risks associated with manual patient handling in the healthcare sector, and for identifying and applying ergonomic strategies and solutions to those problems and risks.
ISO/TR 12296 main goals are
- To improve caregivers' working conditions by decreasing biomechanical overload risk, thus limiting work-related illness and injury, as well as the consequent costs and absenteeism, and
- To account for patients' care quality, safety, dignity and privacy as regards their needs, including specific personal care and hygiene.
The recommendations provided by ISO/TR 12296 are primarily applicable to the movement of people (adults and children) in the provision of healthcare services in purposely built or adapted buildings and environments. Some recommendations can also be applied to wider areas (e.g., home care, emergency care, voluntary caregivers, cadaver handling).
The recommendations for patient handling take into consideration work organization, type and number of patients to be handled, aids, spaces where patients are handled, as well as caregivers' education and awkward postures, but do not apply to object (movement, transfer, pushing and pulling) or animal handling.
Note: Task joint analysis in a daily shift involving patient handling, pulling and pushing or object handling and transport is not considered.
Who is ISO/TR 12296-Manual handling of people in the healthcare sector for?
ISO/TR 12296 on manual handling of people in the healthcare sector is useful for:
- Caregivers and workers of the healthcare sector
- Healthcare managers and workers
- Producers of assistive devices and equipment
- Education and training supervisors
- Healthcare facilities
Why should you use ISO/TR 12296-Manual handling of people in the healthcare sector?
National and international statistics provide evidence that healthcare staff are subject to some of the highest risks of musculoskeletal disorders (particularly for the spine and shoulder), as compared with other jobs. Manual patient handling often induces high loads on the musculoskeletal systems, of the lower back. Manual patient handling ought to be avoided where possible or be performed in a low-risk manner.
An ergonomic approach can have a significant impact on reducing risk from manual patient handling.
ISO/TR 12296 provides you with guidance on general aspects, risk assessment, hazard identification, risk estimation and evaluation, risk reduction and much more.
The guidance provided by ISO/TR 12296 assist you in the identification of hazards, an estimation of the risk associated with manual patient handling and the application of solutions and help you in assessing the elements of the operation and deciding suitable controls.
With obedience and compliance to ISO/TR 12296, enables you to identify, assess and eliminate risks arising from handling people in the health care sector.