Patient lift

A patient lift (patient hoist, jack hoist, hydraulic lift) may be either a sling lift (or Hoyer Lift, a brand name) or sit-to-stand lift. This is an assistive device that allows patients in hospitals and nursing homes and those receiving home health care to be transferred between a bed and a chair or other similar resting places, using hydraulic power. Sling lifts are used for patients whose mobility is limited. They could be mobile (or floor) lifts or overhead lifts (suspended from ceiling-mounted or overhead tracks).

The sling lift has several advantages. It allows heavy patients to be transferred while decreasing stress on caregivers while also reducing the number of nursing staff required to move patients. It also reduces the chance of orthopedic injury from lifting patients.

A Hoyer lift

Another kind of sling lift, which is called a ceiling lift, can be permanently installed on the ceiling of a room in order to save space.

While patient lifts are often used by only one health care worker without assistance, most manufacturers require that two caregivers be present. However, the single caregiver approach makes the patient lift more usable in home care settings where there is often only one caregiver per patient. In either case, patient lifts require special care in their use, as any mistakes made may result in serious injury. Some injuries that have been caused by improper use or malfunction of Hoyer lifts have led to civil lawsuits.

See also

• Casualty lifting
• Lift chair