Hoist Slings for Care Home Residents with Reduced Mobility

Hoist slings or stand aid slings are, perhaps, the most important devices in any care home. Since most of the residents have mobility issues -- to a lesser or greater degree --, transfer slings allow them a bit of freedom of movement.

Moreover, hoist slings help caregivers move residents safely around the room or transport them to the bathroom or to the common areas. In this case, safety refers to both the residents and their caregivers: back injuries are very common in this line of work.

Slings are also heavily regulated by the NHS and are one of the types of equipment inspections target most often. Thus, the choice of hoist slings should never be left to chance.

The right hoist sling used for the right function can significantly enhance your residents’ well-being and safety -- as well as those of your caregivers. In a care home, you will need several types of standing hoist slings.

These are the most common ones:

1.   General Purpose Hoist Slings or Transfer Slings
 

This hoist sling will be useful for 80% of your transfer needs. It is a versatile piece of equipment generally used to move the resident in a seated or upright position.

The NHC Group general purpose transfer slings are designed to support the residents’ torso, back, legs, and, in some cases, neck. They are ideal for those residents who struggle with moving their hips or their torsos.

General purpose stand aid slings usually come with two sections, one for each leg, which gives your caregivers extra flexibility when positioning the residents’ legs.

You can use them for:

• Chair to chair transfers
• Assisted standing (for rehab purposes)
• Bed to chair transfers and vice versa
• Chair to toilet transfers
• Chair to bath transfers (if they are water-resistant, please ask our consultants about this)

2.   Hygiene or Toileting Slings 

Toileting slings will help your residents use the bathroom with minimal help; they are very popular because they allow the user to remain dignified in otherwise embarrassing situations.

These hoist slings allow the resident to use the toilet without the need to be transferred in and out of the sling. They usually come with a waist belt that stabilises the user during transfer and allows them to sit comfortably.

Due to the aperture in toileting slings, they are not recommended for people with diminished core strength or cognitive functions. The user has to be able to hold themselves up in a seated position and to be aware of the transfer purpose.

3.   Moving and Handling Stand Aid Slings

Unlike the other hoist slings, moving and handling ones aren’t designed for patient transfer. Instead, they are used to re-position and handle the residents.

These slings are particularly useful for bed-ridden patients who can’t change their position by themselves. Handling hoist slings reduce the risk of injury for both the patient and the caregiver.

4.   Disposable Slings 

As the name suggests, disposable hoist slings are designed for single use. They come in different shapes and sizes to help you with different types of transfers.

Their main appeal is the fact that they reduce the risk of cross-infection from one user to another. Disposable hoist slings cannot be washed and they cannot come into contact with water.

At NHC Group Ltd., we take great pride in being more than a care home furniture and equipment seller -- we are your partner. We want to see you succeed and this means that we will never sell you something that’s not 100% tailored to your needs.

This is why our consultants will always make sure that the hoist slings you buy are the right fit for the applications you had in mind. You can discuss every purchase with our consultants, but here are a few rules of thumb to keep in mind:

• Every sling has a different weight capacity. Make sure you are informed about it before ordering because some slings are not suitable for severely overweight patients.
• Size matters more than you think. It’s easy to assume that if you order the biggest size all your residents will be covered. In fact, using a hoist sling that’s too big reduces the service user’s comfort and may even cause accidents.
• The user’s ability level is an important factor. Not all hoist slings cater to all mobility issues. Some of them are ideal for users with diminishing core strength, while others are a better fit for those with little or no lower-body strength.

Want to make sure the hoist slings you buy are a good fit for your residents? Talk to our consultants -- we’d be happy to help you choose the right mix of stand aid slings.

NHC Group was founded more than two decades ago with a single mission: helping care homes and nursing homes deliver the best possible care to their residents. This means that we go beyond selling you care home furniture and equipment:

• End-to-end services: from the initial consulting call to post-sales services, we are always trite by your side.
• No compromises on quality: we only work with the best materials so you can keep using the hoists for years to come.
• Service and maintenance services: our technicians’ mission is to increase your equipment’s lifespan and to make sure everything in your care home meets the NHS standards.

Let’s talk hoist slings! Get in touch with our team to learn more about the slings we offer!