Occupational Therapy News OTnews November 2019 | Page 16

FEATURE MANUAL HANDLING
Worth a second look?
Matthew Box and Linda Agnew describe
the positive impact and outcomes of a
project to review double handed care
packages within the Borough of Thurrock
I
n 2018, Thurrock Council funded a project
to review the delivery of double handed care
packages in the borough – where more than one
carer is provided on each visit to deliver personal
care in the home.
While historically there has been a belief that
two people are required to deliver specific manual
handling tasks, a 2014 report by the University of
Salford to investigate the prescription of double
handed care concluded that double handed
care should be re-evaluated and current thinking
questioned, in order to ultimately benefit carers,
clients and reduce cost (Phillips, Mellson and
Richardson 2014).
Research shows that equipment can have a positive
impact on reducing functional decline, reducing the
costs of care, and can significantly increase quality
of life. In many cases, double handed care is not
required when the right equipment is provided, or staff
are trained in the right way. This brings benefits for
service users, care providers and for the local authority
(Robinson and Arnold 2012).
RCOT recently published a report, as part of the
Improving Lives, Saving Money series, Relieving the
16 OTnews November 2019
pressure on social care: the value of occupational
therapy, which highlights the work of occupational
therapists in relieving pressure on the social care
system (RCOT 2019).
The project in Thurrock is an example of the
contribution that occupational therapist can make
in this arena. Inclusion.me were commissioned to
undertake the review, and the main aims of the
project were to:
• improve the capacity of care providers to address
the demand for care;
• reduce client waiting times for care provision
within their homes;
• review current equipment provision, to ensure it is
appropriate and up-to date to meet clients’ needs,
within the resources available;
• undertake risk assessments for each client to
ensure their safety, as well as that of the family
and the carers; and
• identify any cost saving benefits.
The intervention from Inclusion.me was to complete
a comprehensive occupational therapy assessment
and, where a change in needs was identified, identify
the most appropriate equipment or advice.