Lifting and handling of patients, repeated back bending and twisted postures endanger nurses' health. Patient manual handling, constant standing, walk- ing, hurrying and psychosocial factors of the job worsen the load, which forces healthcare staff into early retirement.
The management model for physical risks includes operational targets for safety management, the organisation’s objectives and the methods to achieve them. The model includes: working procedures and skills for physically arduous and riskprone work-related tasks, training to improve skills, acquisition and maintenance of assistive products for handling patients, and monitoring of the model’s implementation.