The Patient Handling Incident Review of Systems (PHIRES)

Background

PHIRES is an incident investigation tool to review incidents sustained through patient handling.

The PHIRES Tool is based on a systems-thinking approach to preventing patient-handling injuries. It is designed to help employers:

• review, and if necessary revise, risk controls following a patient-handling injury
• focus on risk controls for the task, rather than the injured person
• consult with health and safety representatives (HSRs) and employees
• identify more effective risk controls