More than a transfer - column digital

If we ask anyone what moving and handling means they will probably talk about posture, hoists, safe lifting, slide sheets and perhaps training certificates, but, at its heart, moving and handling is about something much deeper: freedom.

Moving and handling is about helping people live lives that make sense for them, with dignity, choice and the chance to do the things so many take for granted.

Nowhere is that more real than when it comes to intimacy.

Sexual expression is a fundamental human right. For many disabled people, that doesn’t vanish just because they need help getting into or out of bed. If someone needs moving and handling support for daily life, getting up, washing, safe positioning, then it’s only right to recognise they may need the same support to enjoy other ordinary parts of life that matter to them, including intimacy.

But despite this, it’s still the part we almost never talk openly about.

Intimacy is not on many training slides and  rarely written into risk assessments. Some care plans skip it altogether, as if intimacy just stops existing when someone needs physical assistance.

When we ignore this part of life, we don’t protect people, we create hidden risk, for the client, for the carer, for the organisations that employ them. Silence is not safeguarding.

The full article can be accessed in our member-exclusive journal column digital.

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