Assistive devices and hygiene in care
Transfer, protective equipment and tools that protect both citizen and yourself
Your trade is about people, but it's also about using the right tools correctly. Aids protect both the citizen's and your own body, and good hygiene prevents infection spreading between citizens. Mastering the equipment is a core competence – it's not something you do 'on top of' care, it's part of it.
§Transfer aids
Heavy lifting is one of the biggest causes of occupational injury in care work, so you use moving aids instead of lifting by hand. A personal lift lifts the person out of bed or chair. Sliding sheets, turning sheets and turntables help you move the person with minimal force. A standing lift helps people who can stand a bit themselves. The most important principle is that you use the person's own resources and let the aid do the heavy work.
- 01Personal lift and sling for citizens unable to bear their own weight.
- 02Sliding sheets and turning sheets for moving and turning in bed.
- 03Standing support lift and walking aids for citizens with remaining function.
- 04Rotating platform and pelvic chair for minor movements.
§Correct work posture
Even with aids your own working position is important. Raise the bed to a good working height so you do not bend your back. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart bend in the knees rather than the back and keep what you are working with close to your body. Avoid twisting and lifting at the same time. Your body is your most important work tool throughout your career — take care of it from day one.
§Hand hygiene – the most important single action
The simplest and most effective way to prevent infection is good hand hygiene. Hands are disinfected before and after contact with a citizen, before clean tasks and after dirty tasks. Hand sanitizer on dry, visibly clean hands is the rule; water and soap is used when hands are visibly dirty. Short nails, no rings and watches, and bare forearms make it possible to get hands properly clean.
§Protective equipment
Protective equipment protects you and the citizen from infection. Gloves are used when in contact with body fluids. Apron or protective gown protects your clothes. Mask and eye protection are used in special situations, for example for certain contagious diseases. The important thing is that you put on protective equipment in the right order, change gloves between tasks and remove them so you don't contaminate yourself.
§Clean and dirty tasks
In care, you distinguish between clean and unclean tasks. You always work from clean to unclean, so you don't transfer infection the wrong way — for example, you wash the citizen's face before the lower toilet. You use different cloths for different areas, and unclean laundry and waste are handled so they don't come into contact with clean things. These principles are simple, but they are the entire backbone of hygiene.
| Situation | Hygiene action |
|---|---|
| Before citizen contact | Hand sanitizer; put on clean gloves as needed. |
| For body fluids | Gloves and possibly an apron; change between tasks. |
| Personal care | Work from clean to dirty; use different cloths. |
| After rapid cooling the steel is very hard but brittle as glass and can crack under impact. During tempering the part is reheated to a lower temperature, thereby sacrificing some hardness for toughness — the balance is chosen based on the tool's use. | Remove gloves, sanitize hands, dispose of waste correctly. |