People lifters
(view report contents)
Using the hoists
Weight
The four hoists can cope with similar weights; the Brig-Ayd BASIL can lift people up to 120kg (18.9 stone), the Meyland up to 110kg (17.3 stone), the Milford up to 127kg (20 stone) with the £100 option, and the Multi-Lift 125kg (19.6 stone).
Ease of use
If you can, try before you buy - hoist suppliers should be willing to demonstrate their products. You need to be confident that you can use it as easily as possible. . You’ll need to check both the hoist, and the car you intend fitting it into to see if:
- there is enough space between the car seat and the top of the door for you to swing in without having to bend your head and neck too much
- the doors are wide enough. Our previous test of hoists suggested that smaller people who have no difficulty bending their head or neck could probably use any of the hoists tested in all but the smallest cars. Larger people and people who are stiff needed more headroom and wider doors.
- sills are low and narrow enough for you to swing in without hitting them
- protruding dashboards and winged car seats don’t make getting in harder than it need be
- that whoever helps you can manage the hoist.
The arm is hooked onto the hoist and the sling is placed around the person being lifted.
The sling is connected to the arm
The hoist lifts the person out of the chair and they are guided towards
the car.
The hoist lowers the person into the car seat and the sling is disconnected
Help needed?
Although these hoists can be used alone, in our tests none of the people with disabilities who tried the equipment out for us could use them without help. To use a hoist without help you need strength and dexterity. You need to be able to bend your head to duck under the car door frame. Some trunk control is needed for balance and you have to be able to lift your feet over the car sill. You also need to be able to remove and stow the detachable arm safely. Once you’ve done that, you also have to be able to pull the wheelchair in after you or get a rooftop or other hoist fitted to help you do this (for more details of suitable wheelchair hoists, see Getting a Wheelchair into a Car, in this series of guides).
Even with help it can be difficult to use a hoist if you are stiff or
have limited control, or if you are very tall or big. Hoists may not be
suitable for people who have spasms: if your limbs jerk you could hit
them against the car.
Using a hoist on a steep hill can be more difficult because you may hang
at an angle which means more pushing is needed. When on a slope make sure
the wheelchair’s brakes are on to stop it running downhill.
However, remember that car adaptation firms point out that what is possible
often depends as much on your will and determination as it does on the
equipment.
Getting into the sling
The sling seats in our tests weighed under a kilogram and were fairly small. Fitting them could be tricky. Although everyone was able to use them, heavier people and those who had difficulty moving found this awkward. Getting the sling underneath you would be particularly difficult if you have a moulded seat or an obtrusive fitting such as a pommel. You may be able to get round this by choosing a different sling style as there’s usually a range to choose from.
Attaching the sling to the hoist
This was often done by the person sitting in the sling rather than a helper. Hooking on was fairly easy as the hooks were all quite large.
All hoists have a mounting point which is permanently bolted to the
car and a main arm which slots into this. The hoists also have a smaller
arm which hooks onto the main arm. The sling is suspended from this second
arm.
For safety, the arms should always be removed for a journey and secured
somewhere so they cannot move if you have to brake sharply. In our tests,
the small arms were easy to lift as they were small and light. The main
arm could also be lifted off its mounting without tools, but all weighed
8kg or more, and were awkwardly shaped. This would be difficult for helpers
who are frail or don’t have enough dexterity.
Getting into the car
This was difficult for some people in our tests and impossible for a few others. The main problem was that it was necessary to duck under the car door frame as you were swung in. The easiest hoists were simply those which gave the most room. Helpers had to watch that heads or feet did not bump into parts of the car or hoist.
Getting out
Getting the wheelchair into the right position, moving the hoist’s arm and the amount of reaching involved caused problems for some helpers.
Time taken
Most people took between three and four minutes to get in and out of the car.
Table of contents
Introduction
Hoists
How
they work
Fitting
Using
the hoists
Comfort
and dignity
Hoists
- summaries and verdicts
Lifting
seats
Wheelchair
Systems
Wheelchair
systems - summaries and verdicts
WAVs
Safety/reliability
Buying
guide
Finance
Helpful
organisations
Mobility
Centres
Suppliers
