Need carers who can lift

[HermioneWeasley]

My dad falls regularly and I thought that if they had careers coming in a few times a day then at least he wouldn’t be waiting 4+ hours for a paramedics each time. My mum would also feel more confident about him getting up to do his exercises if someone was around who could lift him if his legs give out. She’s spoken to 3 different agencies and they all say their carers aren’t allowed to lift.

surely there must be carers who lift people? What about people who are immobile? It can’t just be a case that only paramedics can do this?

can anyone help?

thanks

Have a search for a “mangar Elk” there’s currently some second hand ones on a well-known auction site for £500.

It’s essentially an inflatable seat that he’d roll onto and it would be inflated. I imagine your mum would be able to do it with some clear instructions, and the carers would be able to assist too.

With some practice (and the recommendations for a private OT) it’s probably overall cheaper and will get him back up quicker than relying on carers/paramedics.

Ask for an OT review as where I am we would do a falls assessment and if appropriate could provide lifting equipment eg hoist or mangar. If your mum is fit enough she could be trained on how to use it. Your GP should point you to the right team but if you Google rehab service in your area you might be able to self refer.

My Mum was having just the one carer in the morning to help her wash .
She was sadly terminal and I had temporarily moved in to help with everything else .
The carer would not help with getting her in / out of a bath because they said it was more than a one person job and is at least a 2/3 person . My mum probably weighed around 6.5 - maybe 7 stone so not big .
It is more than likely the same for your Dad .

Yes to all of this.

In my area, SS will provide a hoist if needed. The drawback is that it is often the older type which they provide and they tend to take up a great deal of space.

Your DF should have an assessment for equipment required in the home through adult social services,

Separately, DM should request a carer's assessment via her GP to ensure that everything she needs is in place. If she injures herself or becomes unwell, she may not be able to care for DF so the chance of this happening is reduced.

As a side note regarding the good advice about Falls Teams: We found out when caring for DGM that this term means different things in different areas. DGM lived in one Local Authority area and her GP was in the neighbouring area. Therefore, some of the services she had came from one area and others from the other area (depending on whether they were provided by Health or by Social Services. In her home area, “The Falls Team” was a team of people who might be sent out instead of an ambulance when somebody had a fall without an injury. In the other area, “The Falls Team” was a team of OTs and physios who worked with patients on reducing their risk of falling through providing equipment and exercises.

The most useful thing we did was make an appointment to go in person (phone was useless) to the local Citizens Advice Bureau. We could describe what DGM needed and they told us what it was called. Funnily enough, when speaking to her social worker, services that we had been told didn’t exist when we described DGM's needs were actually available when we asked directly for a referral to a team or service we could name.

If she hadn’t specifically said we will have a hoist and are aware it’s a team of 2/3 that might be the issue. ‘Lift’ means very different things to ‘hoist’ to a care company - worth exploring?

But paramedics have equipment to lift people.

Nursing homes have hoists, so they'll deal with it better. Carers will just make him comfortable and wait for the ambulance to help.

Can you dad get up by himself at all? My dad can given time and often uses a sturdy chair to pull himself up. He also had a pendant alarm and they sometimes send the Early Intervention team (rather than full ambulance) who are able to lift him - once they have checked him over. It's very hard for all concerned.

I’d look at contacting local social services, they regularly work alongside OTs who can do a moving and handling assessment.
look at putting in a falls alarm system, if his weight bearing ability is compromised, depending on how strong his grip is, they would look at putting in a stand aid, Sara Stedy or hoist.
please ignore all the comments re care homes, lots of people continue to thrive in their own homes with lifting equipment installed but usually this needs 2 x carers to support safely, unless it’s a fitted ceiling hoist when you only need one.
Also speak to your GP about being referred to a falls assessment clinic, usually run either by local physios or community rehab team in our area, they will check for medication affects, if physio is needed, the home environment and for other factors that may impact his ability to weight bear.

My mom has carers at home who support her as she has become pretty much bedbound. It is possible given the right adaptations in the home and she has carers to support her daily needs.

You will need social services involved to do an occupational therapist assessment. They will look at the home and suggest where adaptations may help i.e handrails on the loo, a sara steady perhaps to get him out of bed, walking frames etc.

The carers my mom have are brilliant and whilst they would be unable to lift her, the care they provide is incredible and she’s well supported in her own home.

It can take a little while to get the right adaptations in place but occupational therapists will ensure your dad gets the support he needs to avoid falls rather than dealing with the consequences of falling in the future x

Why is he falling? Dizziness, tired, tripping on rugs/slippers?
I agree with the suggestions of adult social services, referral to the falls clinic and OT/physio assessment.

As others have also said, the older hoists used in care homes and hospitals are on wheels, but require a very large floor space to splay the legs to use them correctly and not topple over. There are also ceiling hoist systems, but the roof joist would need to be assessed. I've seen them in a single room, but also tracked through the house so can be used in halls, bathroom, dining area etc. There are also the inflatable chair things.
https://enableliving.com/freeway-transactive-xtra-ceiling-hoist?language=en&currency=GBP&srsltid=AfmBOorKbQBXaa1JIEz6EdihplIi27Y9F3WAQfSVMORNXJ2eE0JIYWotObk&gQT=1

These may not be the best options for him, but that is what an assessment would work out.

Paramedics in my area don’t lift either! They have special equipment to lift. I work as a community nurse. A lot of our patients are connected to ‘care call’ where they pay a monthly fee. Have a pendant alarm and press this if they fall and aren’t injured. It is attached to the local council.
can you look into you area? It may have a similar one.

Carers will not lift a person from the floor! It hurts themselves and can hurt your dad. No one should be drag lifted up! It can cause shoulder dislocations etc

Also if he hasn’t had any investigations for falls he needs a full assessment

Not going to happen I’m afraid. Carers aren’t training to use lifting equipment and they are not allowed to lift for safety reasons

You need one of these
https://www.mobilitysmart.co.uk/mangar-elk-emergency-lifting-cushion.html?ff=1&fp=3194&mtm_campaign=Shopping-In-Stock&mtm_kwd=&mtm_source=google&mtm_medium=cpc&mtm_content=727954156274&mtm_cid=22083426375&mtm_group=174616270442&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD_BxPF3A88sHDjE1kjrVqrOXjRCc&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlpXH0aaRjAMVNZFQBh1INjeaEAQYAiABEgKsAPD_BwE

The difference is that a paramedic is medically trained and able to assess whether the fall was accidental, due to stroke or other episode and whether the patient has been injured as a result. Carers are not.

Talk to your local adult services about what is available locally. As others have said some places have teams whose role is to attend elderly people who are uninjured but on the floor. They should also be able to arrange an OT who can assess and advise on techniques to help him get up independently or with the help of inflatable cushions if that is appropriate. Falls clinics are another option to look at what can be done.

It doesn't sound like there is any need for a carehome yet, especially as often falls risk residents just end up in wheelchairs.

It's a phase so many go through, you have my sympathy, FIL was on the floor every other day, it was only luck that prevented MIL doing her hip being pulled over helping him up.

I assume he's been taught/can't get onto his knees and crawl to a chair/stairs? Loads of YouTube videos available, and worth a look.

There are some community teams who can get uninjured patients off the floor but it's patchy and there are a variety of routes in.

Ask your DF Careline if they do have one; also ask your GP if your local urgent community care team lift uninjured patients. In our area the ambulance service also have volunteers who can come out faster and lift.

I'm not wild about the Elk for a solo helper if the helper is a bit frail, but you could have a look at Raizer chairs which are fine to use solo.

I’m sorry to hear that your Dad is having falls. I started nursing in 1974. We didn’t have the lifting equipment that is available now. Inflatable lifting cushions are a game changer for carefully getting people off the floor safely. The paramedics have access to these. I was of the generation that had to manually lift patients. I have suffered with spinal problems and undergone surgery and this I fully attribute to manually lifting patients. You won’t find carers who will be able to manually lift these days. I wish you and your Dad well and hope a solution can be found to help him.

@HermioneWeasley you need to arrange a hoist similar to the video
And the staff who come in need to be trained to use it. They still may not lift id they fear he has damaged something in the fall. In that case an ambulance or other medic who can sign off on the lift will be needed.

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One of these and the sling which has to be weight specific can help DF stay at home for longer as he can be safely moved from any bed / chair to a chair/ bed.
Toilet access is depending on being able to move the" feet" into the correct position.

Even with this there will be a 2 carer provisioning requirement. Although one person can work safely solo IF your DF can co-operate and roll in the space needed to positon the sling.

Paramedics are trained to assess injuries carers are not. Paramedics also have a range of equipment to assist them - again carers don not. Paramedics also call in additional paramedics to assist in difficult extractions.
No carer should ever attempt to lift a patient off the floor. The risk of injury to themselves and the patient is huge.
Your dad needs assessed by the fall team and fall prevention measures put in place.

there are inflatable chairs / lifting devices that you can purchase to assist lifting someone from the ground up to a sitting position but again someone needs to be trained to safely use it and they must be confident that the person who has fallen is uninjured before attempting to use the lift.

You won't find a carer who can lift in this day and age!

@HermioneWeasley "This is what seems so odd - what is special about the ambulance service that you can lift but carers can’t?"

training and equipment.

we don't have the falls service mentioned in our area. If either of my folks had fallen frequently, it would have meant care home.

My mum and sister ended up with bad arthritis at early ages due to lifting in their care jobs so I’m glad it’s not allowed now.