Patient Lifting for Senior Living

Do you have residents that fall?

Statistics show that while 50% of adults aged over 80 will fall at least once a year, in senior living homes this is three times more likely to happen. They also show that after the first fall there is a 40% chance of a second or third fall.

20% of fall patients over 65 admitted to hospital have been on the ground for an hour or more. As a result of this, 50% of these patients will die within six months.

This information alone is enough to show the scale of the challenge for assisted living professionals.

Safe patient lifting

These figures show the effect a fall may have on a resident, however, the caregiver is also at risk of back injury or strain as a result of repetitive lifting and manual handling. Each year in the health and social care sector around 86,000 people report non-fatal workplace injuries, 50% of these injuries are a result of lifting and handling in care homes, 23% higher than in an office or retail setting.

The implications for the assisted living sector are huge ranging from compensation claims and enhanced costs for agency personnel to overtime payments, reduced productivity and the training of new staff.

Our products

Yet evidence suggests that 40% of injuries due to lifting or transferring patients might have been prevented by using specialist lifting equipment such as the Mangar Camel lifting and ELK lifting cushion.

For many years, as part of the research and development of our products, Mangar has worked directly with the social care workforce to reduce staff sickness and associated costs, while at the same time encouraging greater staff productivity during a fall and because of improved back health. We continue to champion safe and dignified care for residents who fall and we are focused  on reducing the pressure on hospitals and the emergency services when these situations arise.

Safe today means savings tomorrow for the assisted living sector.