Thank you for your forum discussion post. I greatly appreciate it a lot. I also really enjoyed your survey on lifting patients. I am a nurse and I lift patients and sometimes I have to be careful in how I lift patients. Thank you again for this survey.
Thanks again Ricu! It sounds like if you do it right everything is fine, but what situations would influence someone to take a shortcut or not decline when moving a patient? What happened to the patients that you declined to move? Did you get more nurses to help? Also when moving patients it sounds like moving from the bed to a chair or wheel chair requires the most strength. What are the types of equipment that might help a nurse do that transfer?
The patients I have declined to move were medically unstable but still had orders to move so, it wasn't an equipment issue. When the patient is SO large, we use "hovermats" and additional manpower where I work. If not a stand and pivot, a Hoyer lift or that other thing I mentioned but can't remember the name of, is the only really appropriate equipment for chair to bed and back transfer that I know of.
R
My friend's mom, who used to be a nurse mentioned that moving a patient from the bed to the chair needed more strength than from bed to stretcher because it wasn't just lateral movement. But it also seems like there is a lot of turning or moving patients out of the bed to get them moving around and get their blood flowing.
When moving patients, how often do you find yourself not being able to find assistance during the month?
Hey Brian,
Your mom is right. Simple lateral movements like bed to stretcher are least energy consuming especially when you use a slideboard or "slip." The slideboard is a lightweight, nylon, plastic board that straddles the two surfaces and you transfer the patient over it. This is a great help. The slip, or banana as we call it because it's yellow is a thing similar to the slideboard but isn't rigid in fact, it's very pliable. This is a simple nylon "bag" that slides on it's own two surfaces. You place it under the drawsheet and the sheet and patient glide more smoothly across the bed. It makes the patient more mobile than the slideboard but the board makes going from bed to stretcher easier.
Regarding the assistance question, there's always help available but sometimes, depending on how many helpers are needed, there is a wait time. Generally it isn't very long but can be frustrating when everything is interrupted or delayed.
R
Last edited by Ricu; 07-20-2010 at 02:33 PM. Reason: forgot to add something
Because of this wait time are nurses tempted to do the lift/move themselves? How often do you think that happens with other nurses? If you did remember what the equipment from bed to chair was, that would be also helpful, not that you haven't been very helpful.
hi thanks for the survey! i hope you'll also keep us updated on the results
Worked a home care case where I was expected to transfer the patient to and from their wheelchair with the help of available individuals. Available individuals always ignored the situation while rapidly leaving the area when they saw I was about to do the transfer. Hurt myself several times doing this, but had made the decision I needed the work more than I needed to follow the 'two person transfer' rules.
Too bad you didn't have a hoyer or 2. I have noted that many places are getting the new fangled ones.
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