An exploratory assessment of healthcare porters and their musculoskeletal disorders

Knowledge of the tasks porters undertake and the risk of developing an associated musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) is little understood. To more clearly define the role of the healthcare porter, 100 healthcare porters were approached to participate in a semi-structured interview study, (56 participants recruited). An observational study of 12 portering shifts was conducted with participants who had been previously interviewed. Of these 29% (n=16) experienced their first MSD episode whilst employed as a hospital porter. Of those with pre-existing conditions, 14% (n=14) experienced repeat MSD episodes. Patient and nonpatient handling activities, driving, working on computers, and sorting mail were identified by porters, a finding supported during the observational phase. Frequently undertaken tasks per shift were: administration (70 minutes); collecting waste and dirty linen (56 minutes); and transferring bed and trolley patients (37 minutes). Further risk assessment of portering tasks is required to determine whether they are contributing to porters’ MSDs.