NHSGGC Moving & Handling
A brief guide to M&H Competency Assessments
Shortly within your clinical department the M&H Team will be arranging with your SCN to carry
out initial M&H competency assessments. So what do you need to know and do, to get your
assessment completed?
Over the next 6 weeks the M&H team will visit your department to carry out individual
assessments of you and your colleagues carrying out a moving and handling activity.
1. What is a moving and handling activity?
The assessment may only take a few minutes depending on the activity you are doing however
it will be done as you are getting on with your day to day work so for example;

If a patient has just arrived in your ward on a trolley it could be a lateral transfer from
trolley to bed

If you are bed bathing it may be rolling and repositioning a patient in bed

Using a hoist to get a patient from bed to chair
2. What will this assessment establish?
On an individual basis it will determine whether you have any training needs on the activity you
have been observed doing, however overall looking at all the different assessments completed
in your area it will reflect any overall training needs in the department.
3. Your SCN has more detailed information.
The key documents you need to look at are attached to this document:

competency assessment criteria sheet

competency assessment form
Reading both documents it will explain what the M&H practitioner will be assessing you on .
4. What happens now?
The week before starting the assessments M&H practitioners will visit your ward to do brief drop
in sessions to give an overview of the process and answer any specific questions. However,
once the assessments have started it is your responsibility to make your self known to the M&H
practitioner in your area if they arrive when you are on duty to get this completed. The form will
be completed and the outcome explained to you. The assessment will be signed by you, the
M&H Practitioner and your SCN. The assessment will be kept in your file by your SCN.
C Raeburn, MHSL, September 2013
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NHSGGC Moving & Handling
Moving and Handling Competency Assessment Criteria
Risk
Criteria
Low
a) Indirect (open)
holds taken
1. Handling Risk
Factors
2. Personal
Movement
Risk Factors
3. Other Risk
Factors
Medium
c) Some direct holds (gripping)
taken which could lead to
excessive force being applied
High
Very High
e) Use of holds that could lead to being ‘locked’
onto the person, including;
- Holding under the persons axilla / Palm to
palm thumb holds / enabling the person to
hold onto your neck, torso and/or arm
- Examples include using the above holds to
help a person sit forwards and walking
linked arms with a person
f) Inappropriate level of support provided to the
person, particularly too little, potentially not
enough people involved
g) Use of High Risk (Controversial)
Techniques.
- These can be defined as ‘techniques
that involve lifting all or most of the
person’s weight’, and include - Drag lift
(under arm hook); Orthodox Lift (cradle
lift); Through Arm Lift (top and tail);
Australian Lift (shoulder lift); Straight
Lift
- Examples include using the above holds
to ‘drag’ a person up the bed and
bodily lifting a person into standing
b) Appropriate
level of support
provided
d) Inappropriate level of
support provided to the
person, particularly too
much.
a) Rarely adopts
top heavy
postures
c) Occasionally (less than half
the activity) adopts/sustains
top heavy postures
e) Frequently moves into top heavy postures
(bending) and/or adopts prolonged top heavy
postures
b) Rarely adopts
twisted
postures
d) Occasionally (less than half
the activity) adopts/sustains
twisted postures
f) Frequently moves into twisted postures
and/or adopts prolonged twisted postures
a) Good verbal
communication
with person
c) Some verbal communication,
including
limited in explanatory
explanation of
content
task to be
performed
d) Environment appropriate for
task however further
b) Good
preparation required
preparation of
the
environment
C Raeburn, MHSL, September 2013
Not assessed – assessment stopped due to
evidence of High Risk (Controversial)
Technique being used
e) Very little verbal communication with person,
no explanation of the task to be performed
f) Environment inappropriate for proposed task,
that is, no attempt made to alter either the
environment (e.g. move bed, chair, cables) or
task (e.g. change plan)
Not assessed – assessment stopped due to
evidence of High Risk (Controversial)
Technique being used
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NHSGGC Moving & Handling
Moving and Handling Assessment Record Form
Personal Details
Name
Pay Number
Job Title
Hospital
Ward/Department
Assessment Details
Overall Risk
Comment
Low
Record when all three Factors are identified as Low Risk, reassess in 18 months.
Medium
Record when any of the three Factors (Handling, Personal Movement or Other) is identified as
Medium Risk, reassess in 12 months.
Record when any of the three Factors (Handling, Personal Movement or Other) is identified as High
Risk, reassess in 1 month.
Record when a Very High Risk Handling Factor is identified, that is, the use of a full body lift of a
patient including; Australian, Orthodox, Straight and Though Arm Lift. The activity and assessment
will be stopped prior to the lift occurring. Reassess within 1 month.
High
Very High
Task Assessed:
Risk Factor
Assessment Factors
Low
Risk
Medium
Risk
High
Risk
Very High
Risk
Remedial
Action
 No
Handling
Yes
Personal Movement
Yes
Other
Yes
 No
 No
Overall Risk

Medium 
High 
Very High 
Low
Details of proposed remedial action to be taken / remedial action taken:
Information
Sheets Provided
Assessor
Assessee
Line Manager
Assessment Date
Reassessment Date
C Raeburn, MHSL, September 2013
(Month / Year)
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