Case Study
Workplace design for three nurses

The company is a hospital that belongs to a healthcare group. The hospital specializes in inpatient follow-up or nursing care for patients in the fields of internal medicine and orthopedics. Patients are referred to the nursing clinic primarily from other hospitals in the region.

The woman has epilepsy and arm and leg disabilities. Due to her disabilities, the woman cannot perform heavy lifting and carrying. The GdB (degree of disability) is 90.

The woman works as a health care and nursing assistant in the hospital.

The woman has a cardiovascular disease. Due to her disability, she is also unable to perform physically demanding lifting and carrying tasks. The degree of her disability is 80 (GdB 80).

The woman works as a health care worker and nurse in the hospital.

The woman has a back disease and also a cardiovascular disease. She should not manually lift or carry heavy loads or perform physically strenuous activities. The degree of disability is 50 (GdB 50).

The woman works as a health care and nursing assistant in the hospital.

The three nurses work in one of three nursing wards of the hospital. Each of these wards has 22 beds and occupies an entire floor of the hospital building. As part of their job, the three women care for patients, most of whom are elderly, meaning they wash them and help them use the restroom. Of the 22 patients, an average of 18 require help with personal hygiene and toilet use. Bathing and transferring patients to the bathtub and toilet cause particular problems for the nurses, as they have to lift, hold and support the patients constantly. In addition, washing the patients in the bathtub results in forced postures, as the nursing assistants constantly have to bend down.
The very strenuous work (holding and carrying) and the associated high physical strain on the three nurses, as well as the forced postures, can be significantly reduced by using a mobile lift and a lifting bathtub. With the lift, patients can be transferred or lifted into the bathtub or onto the toilet. With the lifting bathtub, the working height, i.e. the height at which the patients are washed in the bathtub, can be ergonomically adjusted.
The dismantling of the existing bathtubs, the modification of the water connections and drainage lines, and the reconstruction of the rooms (tiling work) were mainly carried out by the hospital's facility management department using its own resources.

The integration and inclusion office provided 80 percent of the funding for the assistive products. The advice was provided by the Technical Advisory Service of the Integration and Inclusion Office.