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

Thanks to you all for your input. Lots of helpful suggestions

A very long time ago I was 20 and working in a care home as a care assisstant with no training, and had to lift a resident from a wheelchair to an armchair by myself. My back - it's difficult to describe - sort of pinged when I was doing this, it was very painful, I swore and jerked which was distressing for the resident, and it was risky because I could have injured them.

I think things have moved on a lot from then - even at the time two trained carers used hoists for more complex lifts.

My DF was under a council falls team for a while and they were great, although stressed that there were a small number of staff covering quite a big geographical area.

Reducing things he could fall over would have been helpful but my parents were very reluctant to adapt the house.

Care homes will have trained staff on site who can get residents back on their feet safely.

I wouldn't rush out and purchase any equipment privately, we are only able to use equipment recommended/supplied by an OT.

We would not be able to get anyone up off the floor if we walked in and found them there. We have no choice but to call 999.

My company does have a raizer chair that can be used after a witnessed fall, where the client has capacity and can tell us what happened and that they are unhurt

We lifted my Mil yesterday (been told we can by OT) and it's really difficult. I'm pretty highly trained in first aid too, so did an assessment prior to picking her up.

My DM has a lifting cushion, way better idea!

If he keeps falling unfortunately a care home is the only option.

I'm an older people's social worker. It really isn't.

I am part of an Urgent Community team that lifts patients off the floor after falling. As PP have said they are lifted with specialist equipment that you need training for. There are other considerations too prior to moving them - are they on blood thinners? Any obvious injuries? Any pain? It is not as simple as they fall and you lift as you could do more harm. I highly doubt a carer would be willing to use the equipment.

Inflatable lifting devices, like the ones the paramedics carry are £££££, with the added bonus that only someone trained and certified to use it can operate it

www.essentialaids.com/household/mangar-lifting-cushions/elk-emergency-lifting-cushion.html

@HermioneWeasley
I have heard of inflatable cushions you can use to get someone up after they have had a fall.

I'd really welcome any advice, it's been an issue for mum and we have to call 111.

You won’t be able to get an official solution. We were in a very similar situation with our gran who would easily loose her balance.

Could you ‘advertise’ on your local FB asking if anyone would be available to pick your dad up? We had a neighbour across the road who would come give us a hand.

When my parents were both having frequent falls at home, they had emergency pendants for the local authority call-out service. But the crazy thing was that for some reason it was only the day shift that was equipped with the inflating lift chairs, and the night shift would basically come out and say, oh yes, you have fallen, we can't get you up, we will need to call an ambulance for you (even if they weren't injured) which could lead to waits of 12+ hours on the floor when the ambulance service was in crisis, as they were low priority due to not being injured. Ridiculous system.

@SoloSofa24 we don't even have a service

the alarm connects to a call centre who ring me, or 999 if needed.

The problem is injuring the person as you pick them up. My very elderly neighbour was picked up in the street by a good Samaritan & suffered quite bad injuries.

Advertising for a random person to help is a really bad idea from a liability point of view.

We pick Mil up as it is fairly clear she is uninjured. The slightest bit of doubt & I'd be calling 999, which is roughly a 12 hr wait here.

he would benefit from an OT assessment or possibly a local falls service. A falls service assessment would probably be quicker, ask your dad’s GP if they offer one in his area. As others have pointed out, carers are not trained to assess for broken hips etc, they would not be allowed to get a patient off the floor via whatever means. However, presuming your dad is of sound mind, he could be taught ‘backwards chaining’ which would enable him to get up on his own. Alternatively there are things like Raizers, Elks, Camels which he could be assessed for if falls are very frequent.

However prevention is always better than cure, and at some point if he keeps falling he will break something. So you need to think why he is falling. You mention his legs give way. Is this because of weakness? Has a physio given him any exercises to improve strength? Is he trying to walk too far?would a chair at a ‘half way rest point’ be of benefit? Or perhaps a glide about commode if your mum was able to push it? You may have to adapt his environment to be one he can manage (micro environment). Does he tend to fall at certain parts of the day? Early morning? Evening? Think about why this is. If someone has been laying down all night they can become dizzy when standing (postural hypotension). Or does he get tired towards the end of the day? If so could his activities be adjusted to these factors?
what about the environment? Is it well lit? Have you removed trip hazards eg rugs, wires etc. does he use an aid to walk? Is it in good condition? Has it been measured for appropriate height? Is there enough space for it, especially when turning? Alternatively would some cleverly placed furniture give him something to grab hold of if he had a wobble? Some people ‘rail’ a house, so long grab rails going all along a wall to offer support and reduce falls risk. Third sector organisations such as Care and Repair are excellent at advising on this. I think they are UK wide.
How is he at getting on and off a chair, toilet, bed? Does he struggle and use a lot of energy? Does he fall when attempting to do so? If so he would need an assessment for chair raisers, Mowbray, bed lever etc (by a professional). How does he get washed and dressed? Does he have anywhere to sit to do so? Would he benefit from a shower chair, perching stool, bath lift, rails? Again, Care and Repair are your friends here.
what is his footwear like? Supportive? Make sure they aren’t slip on ones and they have a good solid sole. Does he sometimes catch his toe (foot drop)? If so has he been assessed by orthotics?
is he on lots of different medications (polypharmacy)? If so you could ask his Gp for a medication review and explain the falls (some meds and polypharmacy can cause falls).
is he eating and drinking enough or is he nutritionally compromised?
Has he had his eyesight checked recently? Places like specsavers do home visits if needed. Are his glasses clean? Does he remember to wear them?
I totally disagree that he needs to go into a care home. Firstly, presuming he has mental capacity he cannot be forced against his will to go anywhere. Secondly there are many, many things that can be done to help prevent falls. And thirdly, some people live in their own home, nurse in bed with a carer coming in 4 times a day.

another thing to consider is educating your parents on what to do during a ‘long lie’ eg waiting for an ambulance eg- keep warm and hydrated if possible, being aware of the risks of aspiration depending on position.
other things to do is make sure your parents home is registered as having vulnerable people in it with places like their water company, gas supplier, electricity supplier and local fire service (who will also do a free home check). This way they will go in a priority list if the water was to be cut off etc.
You sound like a lovely caring daughter. I hope some of this is helpful.

Has there been a community OT referral and visit to assess the house? Also a referral to the Falls Prevention Service should have been made.

When does your Mum tend to fall? If it's at night when she's trying to get to the bathroom, it may be BP related. Are there potential trip hazards in the house? Would she consider a move to a more appropriate, purpose built property? Has she / you looked into an Extra Care Scheme.

Ask for a social care assessment if she hasn't had one.

In my experience, very few people go into residential care unless they have dementia these days. There are lots of sites which can be taken first.

Carers are not supposed to damage their backs lifting.

Carers aren’t allowed to lift people in case they hurt themselves or the person that has fallen. Our carers are allowed to use raizer lifts though if that helps

Large burly men capable of doing this kind of lifting are not going to be willing to work as carers!

@Hairyfairy01That was an amazingly informative post.

When DM fell she was a dead weight and even two paramedics sometimes had trouble lifting her. There’s no guarantee that just because the person hasn’t hurt themselves on previous falls that they aren’t hurt.

Wow @Hairyfairy01 , what a post!
You're amazing to think of all that !
What a star!!

Thanks. To be fair it is basically my job so happy to help if I can. A good falls service will be asking all of these questions as part of their ‘muliti risk assessment’ (MRA) and referring on where needed.

You can subscribe to a service that they press to request help. It’s not free so not a strain on the nhs.

@Hairyfairy01 but great of you to take the time to post and to share the knowledge.
I have a penchant for simple and obvious ( only once they're pointed out 🙂) answers to everyday problems.