Lifting and handling of patients by anaesthetists

The process of transferring patients from the operating table was assessed in a district general hospital. The survey was conducted in two parts; a confidential questionnaire was sent to all members of the department and a month long assessment of three anaesthetists' caseload was undertaken. All the anaesthetists questioned had scanty knowledge of the relevant manual handling regulations. Although 70% of anaesthetists questioned lift and transfer patients on a regular basis, none had received any relevant training. Ninety-six percent of patient transfers were performed by two staff alone, even though there were five or more staff available to assist at 95% of transfers. Difficulty in transferring patients occurred in 32% of cases. Improvement of training anaesthetists in safe manual handling procedures is recommended.