Both Aged Care and Community Care are relatively high-risk environments with the possibility of physical injury not just to clients but to carers as well. Most of the training currently available is not effective in equipping carers to move clients safely whilst avoiding injury to themselves. Mark Schneider, Founder of BodyRight Healthcare, explains how to deal appropriately with increasingly complex patient care demands and limit the risk of WorkCover claims, using his exclusive Lift Less Solutions method..
Before we get to that, we put it to Schneider that the Allied Health care industry has had manual handling and patient movement training providers for decades, so how is this Lift Less method different?
He agreed that training has been available for a long time and that it may have been appropriate before but that the industry has undergone a step-change in complexity. That’s made most of that training superficial at best and certainly no longer truly fit for purpose. He says you can no longer rely on theory and tick-box approaches that have been prevalent in the sector for as long as he can remember.
Most of the training out there still focuses on the client or patient and doesn’t adequately address the risks to the carer. At best what’s offered is simplistic manual handling advice about spinal care and posture. Only theory with little or no hands-on application
Schneider says, “That doesn’t go nearly far enough. Most of the available training teaches you how to lift boxes. People aren’t boxes!”
Inadequate Training
He points out that while the ability to move clients safely has been a focus in Aged Care for a long time, it has traditionally been much less of an issue in Community Care, where clients’ physical capacity has been significantly better. And that’s what’s changed.
Because of the funding from the home care package, more people are “aging at home” for longer so their care services are provided by Community Care staff who often have not had the level of training required to move clients safely. And then when the client does move into Residential Care their needs are more acute and complex so the carers in those environments also find their training somewhat lacking.
Lift Less Solutions – a hands-on Answer to the Problem
Schneider says that the Lift Less Method effectively eliminates these challenges.
Much of the training that’s been offered in the past and to some extent even now, consists of brief online courses entirely focused on theory. Lift Less is the opposite. It’s intentionally designed to be delivered in hands-on workshops using real people and to achieve real skills.
If you’ve ever come across Louise O’Shea’s NoLift System, first developed thirty years ago, this is the tried and proven method Schneider has the exclusive rights to offer his clients.
So, How Does It Work?
The Lift Less Solutions approach works that same way across Aged Care, Community Care and the Disability sector. It starts with a rigorous individual assessment of the client’s physical situation, needs, and physical capacity.
The results of that assessment are the basis for deciding which patient movement techniques are most appropriate. Safe Operating Procedures are confirmed and documented in a personalized Care Plan.
In the competency-based training workshops, carers learn the theoretical aspects of the unique O’Shea NoLift System. They are then required to put that theory into practice by demonstrating the Safe Operating Procedures as well as observing and correcting other attendees.
Having demonstrated that they have acquired the necessary skills, they then discuss in detail the individual needs of the people they will be caring for so that the learning is effectively transferred to their real-world situations.
Schneider’s passion for this work is palpable, so we were keen to hear more about what’s behind that drive. It’s born of more than four decades of working in the Allied Healthcare sector. He’s seen and experienced first-hand the challenges carers face many times every day and how inadequate much of the training is in preparing them to deal with the physical demands of their jobs.
Why Launch Lift Less Now?
Schneider and his team have been using this method with their own clients for a long time so they’ve seen the results in improved carer skills as well as reduced work-related injuries and WorkCover claims. They’ve also enjoyed consistently positive client feedback, and now the opportunity to make this method more broadly available under their own brand Lift Less Solutions has arisen.
Mark has exclusive rights to the proven O’Shea NoLift System, so you won’t be able to get this training anywhere else except from Louise herself.
About Mark Schneider
He has more than four decades of clinical experience as an Allied Health Professional, supporting Aged Care, Community Care and Disability providers in meeting compliance standards and delivering a better experience for their clients.
By combining his clinical expertise with business acumen, he works with clients to improve stakeholder relationships and uphold accreditation standards, along with providing Allied Health Systems that are audit-proof.
Starting his career running a sports medicine spinal clinic, he had to reinvent himself after a car accident in 1994. The next chapter brought him into the Aged Care sector, unlocking a passion for helping people and making a difference in the community.
Schneider and his team work closely with Facility Managers, Clinical Coordinators, Facility Owners, Operations Managers, and General Managers in Aged Care, Home Care Package Providers and Home Care Package Case Managers, Support Coordinators, Local Area Coordinators and Plan Management Providers within the Disability sector.
If you’re interested in learning more about Lift Less Solutions, you can connect with Mark Schneider on LinkedIn. Or via their company page Liftless Solutions.
Published by: Josh Tatunay
