Resident Showering and Personal Care Assistance SWMS

For aged care homes, disability accommodation and in-home support providers whose workers help residents to shower and with personal care. It follows the work from reading the care plan and preparing the bathroom through transfers, showering, continence and skin care, dealing with distress or aggression, drying and dressing, to cleaning and emergency response. Mobile hoist and sling transfers need their own SWMS.

Showering and personal care is not construction work, so the high risk construction work list in WHS Regulation s 291 does not apply and no item is pre-ticked. A SWMS is required by law only for high risk construction work (s 299); otherwise this document works as a written safe work procedure and task risk assessment that a care provider, funder or auditor may still ask for. If the job forms part of construction work, such as a bathroom renovation, tick the items on the form that apply.

Learn More: What Is A Safe Work Method Statement?
Have you ever been asked to provide a SWMS on a project in Queensland? Read our guide to what a Safe Work Method Statement is and when you need one.

What Is Covered In Our Resident Showering and Personal Care Assistance SWMS?

The job steps run in the order the work is done, from pre-start checks to finishing up. The hazards and controls include:

• Back and shoulder strains from helping a resident move
• Resident falls during transfers and in the shower
• Slips on wet and soapy floors
• Scalds from hot water or sudden temperature changes
• Infection from blood and body fluids
• Cross-contamination between residents and surfaces
• Distress, resistance and aggression from residents
• Awkward postures in small bathrooms
• Chemical contact from cleaning and disinfecting products
• Lone work in a resident’s home
• Resident chilling or dizziness after showering
• Fall, burn or collapse emergency response

High Risk Construction Work

No high risk construction work items (WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 291) are pre-ticked, because this work is not high risk construction work by itself. Tick the items that apply to your job, such as a fall risk of more than 2 metres or work where powered mobile plant is moving.

Licences, Training and Competency

• Care workers trained and assessed as competent in assisting with showering and personal care, including the provider’s own procedures and the resident’s care plan
• Training in manual tasks involving the handling of people, and in the use of the shower chairs, commodes, slide sheets and other aids on site (for a mobile hoist, use the separate SWMS)
• Infection prevention and control training, including hand hygiene, standard precautions, correct use of gloves, aprons and masks, and handling of linen and waste
• Training in responding to distress, aggression and resistance to care, and in working with the resident’s behaviour support plan where there is one
• First aid training for workers, with access to first aid equipment and facilities (WHS Regulation s 42)
• Any screening, registration or qualification the care provider, the funder or the regulator requires; this SWMS does not set those requirements
• Site or home induction, including the emergency plan, the location of the call system and the first aid kit

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): s 60 (managing risks of musculoskeletal disorders from hazardous manual tasks, including handling people), s 48 (remote or isolated work), s 55C (psychosocial risks) and s 699 (infection as a prescribed serious illness)
• Manual Tasks Involving the Handling of People Advisory Standard 2001 (a preserved code of practice listed in Schedule 1 of the Codes of Practice Notice; covers lifting, moving and assisting people)
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the risk of psychosocial hazards at work Code of Practice 2022
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risks of biological hazards at work (model code, not approved in Queensland; guidance only)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice for the healthcare and social assistance industry (model code, not approved in Queensland; guidance only)
• Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice: Managing the risk of fatigue at work (model code, not approved in Queensland; guidance only)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (14 pages), laid out on A4 landscape pages
• Business, client, job and document details typed once and filled in on every page, plus a space for your logo
• The high risk construction work checklist, worded as WHS Regulation s 291, and the construction project question (s 292)
• A worker and health and safety representative consultation record
• Qualifications, plant, PPE, hazardous chemicals, safety equipment, permits, references and emergency arrangements filled in for this work
• A 5 x 5 risk matrix, and job steps with initial and residual risk scores and the people responsible
• Implementing, monitoring and review requirements, an additional controls log, revision history and a worker sign-on sheet

Review and adjust it for your site, your plant and the way your crew does the job, and talk it through with your workers before work starts. If you have any trouble downloading this SWMS, you can contact us at any time. Please make sure you read our Disclaimer before downloading this SWMS.