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Dept of Health

Answer

Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many (a) medical staff, (b) nursing and midwifery staff and (c) health care assistants have reported back injuries related to their work in the NHS in each of the last six years; [119687] (2) what representations he has received on the contribution of staffing levels to the risk of staff or patient injury relating to manual handling of patients in the NHS; [119688] (3) if he will place a copy of the NHS Manual Handling Regulations in the Library. [119689] Mr. Hutton: The Department does not collect this information centrally. However, we do know that one third of all reported injuries that result in three or more days off work are caused by manual handling accidents and that manual handling accidents and back pain account for approximately 40 per cent. of all national health service sickness absence. Evidence suggests that the introduction of lifting equipment for patients, following suitable risk assessment, has a greater impact on the number of manual handling accidents to both staff and patients than simply increasing staff numbers. We believe that the current strategy of providing increased levels of mechanical aids is responsible for the reduction in manual handing accidents reported by 33 per cent. of trusts in the National Audit Office's recent report "A Safer Place to Work--Improving the Management of Health and Safety Risks to Staff in NHS Trusts". The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 are not specific to the NHS. However, the Health and Safety Executive has issued non-statutory guidance, "Manual Handling in the Health Services", a copy of which will be placed in the Library.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

407 c575-6W;407 c579W; 119687;119688;119689

Session

2002-03

Subjects

Ancillary staff Doctors Health and safety Health professions Industrial injuries Nurses Midwives Spinal injuries

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk