Hoists....

Does anyone have experience of using a portable hoist ?

We have had an Oxford Midi 180 delivered and im assured i can use it by myself ? That is when the correct sling arrives, currently waiting for an In Situ one ?

I think it would be a 2 person job to use safely so i wondered if anyone else has used one ?

Hi Tom, you know my thoughts on portable hoists. It is hard work for 1 person…even if the patient can hold their top half fairly steadily.

When I used them I got my feet and legs bashed by the body of the ramp with swinging. This is where 2 people would be useful.

I used mine for 3 weeks and then told the Moving & Handling technician that we couldnt continue with it.

Then we got assessed for ceiling hoists and they are GREAT!

The LA and local MS branch funded it for me.

Boudsx

Thanks Bouds…

Those are my concerns too… my wife cannot support herself so i can see an injury occurring with the hoist.

Ceiling hoists have been discussed but i will enquire more about them. They sound the way forward to me !

Tom x

Dear Tom,

Ceiling hoists are definitely better and easier … that’s why when taking Kym on hols, the Ceiling Hoists web page (CHUC) was so useful as it details all holiday home locations that have ceiling hoists (a total Godsend for me !). At home with Kym, and using a portable hoist, double-handed care gave Kym the safety precaution much better, because one carer is in control of the hoist and the other is monitoring your partner (my wife) to ensure she is safe as she moves in the sling from the bed to the chair (or vice-versa).

However, in our circumstances, care visits being reduced due to cutbacks, led to me needing to be sure I could do it on my own so I did master the art of raising Kym in the sling, swiftly moving out the wheelchair and then moving the hoist over the bed and lowering, and that art or skill if you like, does come with practice, and once you’ve mastered it, it does give you more freedom, knowing you can do it by yourself if needs be.

The Council OT then did tell me portable hoist movement can be done by one person, as a means of trying to cut my wife’s care back from a double-handed visit to single carer visit or suggesting that the live-in carer could do it by herself, without another carer coming into help her. That was all about cutbacks, and I pushed back saying I wasn’t happy on safety grounds and successfully won on that issue. I knew I could do it singly by myself because I was good at it but I didn’t want the live-in carer put under pressure and Kym’s safety compromised in that way.

I was happy having just the portable hoist at home once I’d mastered it OK. How are you getting on with it or is the ceiling hoist coming in ?

Best, Matt