Single-handed care is a particularly prevalent topic now in the healthcare sector. With a growing demand for home care and issues with funding and staffing, this discussion of single-handed care comes up a lot more often now than ever before.
But one of the most important issues of single-handed care is having the right equipment that can be used by just one person. We’ve thought of a few key items that can help to keep single-handed care as quick, easy, and safe as possible.
Slide Sheets
Any OT or moving and handling specialists will be able to tell you about how important it is to use sliding sheets when repositioning an individual. It would usually take 2 carers to reposition someone in bed in a safe and effective manner.
With the help of slide sheets, a single carer can safely reposition an individual with very little risk of injury to the person or themselves.
When undertaking single-handed care, we often recommend the WendyLett System. This 3-part product uses different fabrics to give incredible flexibility when moving someone around in bed.
The base sheet is put on top of the mattress. The carer can then choose between a 2-way or 4-way sheet to use on top of this depending on how much manoeuvrability they need.
The sheets have stripes on them to indicate the directions that they can be moved in, and the material also stops the user from sliding down the bed.
Transfer Aids
Transfer aids are also an incredibly important piece of equipment for single-handed carers. These handy pieces of kit are a great help in repositioning people from seated to standing position and vice versa.
Designed for use with a sling, transfer aids can also be used to move users from one location to another at no extra physical cost to the carer.
Transfer aids can be used to prevent single-handed carers from injuring themselves trying to move individuals.
Transfer aids are available in various styles each designed to help in a specific situation.
Whether it is a sit to stand transfer aid like QuickMove to take users from a sitting position in a wheelchair or bed, to a standing one that you are looking for; or a turning transfer aid like ReTurn, these are brilliant transfer aids for single-handed carers.
Whether it’s pivoting, getting to a standing position, and being moved around the room, these lifts are very easy to use and require only one operator.
Lifting Chair
The Raizer is a must-have device for single-handed care as it can lift fallen people back up with minimal effort.
One of the most challenging tasks to a single-handed carer is getting someone back on their feet after they’ve had a fall. The usual falls lifting devices don’t usually cater to single operator usage, and you don’t want to risk injuring yourself by undertaking any strenuous lifting and such in an attempt to compensate for the shortfalls of other emergency lifting devices.
The Raizer is an excellent falls lifting device specifically for single-handed care. This chair is assembled around the fallen person and can lift them back up to a seated position.
The backrest and legs of the Raizer are put together whilst the individual is laid down, and the carer can then use the handset to make the chair move and lift the person up to a seated position. The carer should use their other hand to support the person’s head; this easy system also allows the operator to keep eye contact with the fallen person, which is a great comfort.
Summary
Single-handed care can be made much easier with just a few items like these. Having the right equipment is key to delivering excellent care as an individual.
It’s also a good way to safeguard yourself from any potential injuries that could be obtained through strenuous moving and handling that is usually carried out by two carers.
There is plenty of other equipment available to ensure that single-handed care is easy and safe, just get in touch with us to find out more.
Graeme has worked alongside the public sector for much of his working life, helping departments improve efficiencies and deliver on projects. In his role at Vivid.Care, Graeme used his experience to tackle some of the most challenging issues in the healthcare sector, from falls through to winter pressures. He was also a guest speaker and a number of different conferences, including at the Falls Prevention Summit in London.
