ABSTRACT
Despite the recent national initiatives (RCN 1996) that have promoted an ergonomic approach to the handling of patients based on risk assessment, there remains a significant problem with staff injuries. Recent estimates suggest that 80,000 nurses receive back injuries annually with 3,600 nurses needing to be medically retired each year because of their injuries (BackCare 2000). These figures have a major impact on the NHS both in terms of treatment costs and decreased productivity.
