Manual Handling in Health and Social Care is written for all those
involved in the manual handling of adults or children - including those
carrying it out, assessors, managers and commissioners.
It lays out the current legal requirements in a non-technical way and
includes case studies illustrating the law applied in practice, across
health, social care and sometimes educational settings. The book applies
to England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. An extended
introduction sets out challenges, past, present and future, including
safety, balancing risk with duties to meet people's needs, human rights,
avoidance of blanket policies, mental capacity, safeguarding, the
limited resources of statutory services and single-handed care. It also
considers some of the legal implications of increased use of technology
(including remote assessment), as well as the mechanisation of care and
its application to manual handling.
The main part of the book is in the form of an A-Z guide, providing
quick access to relevant legislation and common law (negligence) rules
applying to personal injury cases. It covers also, extensively, judicial
review legal challenges to decisions, when people and their families
disagree with manual handing decisions that have been made. In addition,
relevant ombudsman cases are included.
The book will be essential reference for staff and managers in health
and social care settings, students, legal professionals and all those
working to ensure good practice and compliance with the law.
