Comment on Column article "Coping with patient Obesity in hospitals" by Anne Murray

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following on from the short report in my newsletter this is a more detailed look a the article in Column Vol 21.1 2012 pp8 - 13 Coping with patient obesity in hospitals by Anne Murray

In this she states that 'in 2009 in Scotland 26.9% of med and 26.4% of women were obese compared to 15.9% and 17.3% respectively in 1995' this is a very scarey statistic and means that the likelihood of caring for obese people is rising rapidly. It is worth remembering, as Anne points out, bariatric patients can present with a range of medical conditions which can complicate their treatment and affect their mobility and moving and handling.  These problems can include cardiovascular disease, diabetes, liver and kidney problems and can include mental health issues.

Moving and handling bariatric patients carries its own risks and Anne cites that in 2010 there were 107 recorded staff injuries as a result of patient handling in a particular organisation. She also reminds us that low back pain is the most common and costly work related injury.

In the article Anne points out that there are concerns relating to the provision of appropriate equipment to manage patient's pain, safety, dignity and comfort.

One of the main points that stood out to me in her article was the issue that good training on its own is ineffective in preventing problems. What is needed is a  cultural change in the organisation to incorporate the training into good practice. The good training should include training problem solving and encouraging people to do ongoing risk assessments in the moment and identify the risks and then manage them.

A very interesting article that was easy to read and raised many points and reminded us as moving and handling trainers that our job is to give people the tools to do their own risk assessments in the moment and manage their own risks appropriately and look out for their colleagues.

It also gets us thinking about the provision of equipment for the bariatric patient and how it is procured as needed.

Lots of food for thought.