Embedding ergonomics in hospital culture: top-down and bottom-up strategies

In England there has been increasing emphasis on the use of ergonomics to tackle manual handling problems for the last seven years (MHO, 1992, 1998; HSAC, 1998). At Nottingham City Hospital NHS Trust, I have tried to incorporate an ergonomic approach throughout a wide range of activities since 1994. This paper does not seek to report a research project, simply to share the experience of trying to tackle hospital manual handling risks by taking an ergonomic approach. It will explain what this has involved, where it has been successful and where there have been difficulties. In the five years since the implementation of this strategy three measures have been used to monitor trends. These are (1) manual handling incidents: showing a 33% reduction; (2) days lost from musculoskeletal-related sickness absence: 36% reduction; and (3) completed risk actions: rising from 33% completion to over 75% completion.