Optimal Handed Care: the decision framework
The number of carers is an output of assessment, not an input. The four conditions for changing a package, when two carers stay, and when function can take a person further.
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Resources
Guidance for councils, providers and families.
Practical articles on moving and handling, Optimal Handed Care and rehabilitation — written to be used, not just read.
Open the knowledge base Ten practice articles on the systems approach to safer handling.
Commissioning single-handed care, Care Act duties and what a defensible decision looks like.
Dignity is a handling control, not a courtesy
A transfer the person dreads is a transfer that goes wrong. Participation, consent, privacy, language and preference — written into the plan.
ReadWhy training alone does not make handling safe
Attendance proves attendance. Competence is demonstrated on the floor, refreshed on triggers, and checked by audit.
ReadAfter a fall: recovering a person from the floor safely
A person on the floor is a clinical situation first and a handling task second — and the handling task is never a manual lift.
ReadRepositioning in bed and lateral transfers without lifting
Nobody should be lifted or dragged up a bed. Profiling beds, slide sheets, transfer boards and air-assisted systems — and how many carers each task actually needs.
ReadThe environment decides the method: bed height, turning space and furniture
The room decides what one carer can safely do. The measurements that matter, floor loading, access and evacuation — and why fixing the room changes staffing decisions.
ReadEquipment fit for purpose: safe working load, compatibility and LOLER
Five checks before any device goes in a plan — and why substitution is the silent risk.
ReadPlus-size (bariatric) moving & handling: weight, body shape and space
Supporting a plus-size person safely is a planning problem before it is a lifting problem: recorded weight, equipment capacity, body shape, space, access and the events that are not routine.
ReadWhat a person-specific moving & handling assessment must record
Generic and person-specific assessments are different documents. What a good one records, task by task, so any competent carer can follow it.
ReadA safer system of work in five steps
A handling plan is the last step of a system, not the first. The five steps we apply to every case — and where services most often skip one.
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