I am working in a MAJOR hospital, and thankfully, we have ceiling lifts, stedys and sara equiptment available for use. Now my question is, when I am using these lifts, I feel EXTREMELY nervous. Maybe to the point of just using my own body and maneuvering my patients using the automatic bed adjustments. SOMETIMES I have another nurse help me using these, but sometimes I do not, and this really upsets me because if a patient does in fact become injured, how will anyone know that it was not my fault and rather a faulty piece of equipment? I have worked insanely hard to follow every policy and procedure, but these lifts are extremely new to me, and the absolute last thing I would ever want to do is endanger a patient's safety and also myself by risking doing a procedure like that on my own. Has anyone else dealt with this and what are your thoughts? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Common things that can happen with a hoisted patient (using a ceiling lift or floor lift):
1) Panic attacks (due to being disoriented during hoisting) - often happens with dementia or confused patients
2) Sundowning - erratic or violent behavior, screaming, flailing around in the sling while hoisted
3) Increased pain due to being bent and compressed by the sling (acting out is more likely due to pain)
All of these situations require that a second caregiver be present to steady and calm the patient (to prevent injury) since the first caregiver must control the position of the sling with the buttons (with at least one hand). A lift company that recommends only one caregiver be present seems to be taking an unnecessary risk.
You are right to worry about using a ceiling lift if you are the only caregiver present.
jm_emt
34 Posts
Common things that can happen with a hoisted patient (using a ceiling lift or floor lift):
1) Panic attacks (due to being disoriented during hoisting) - often happens with dementia or confused patients
2) Sundowning - erratic or violent behavior, screaming, flailing around in the sling while hoisted
3) Increased pain due to being bent and compressed by the sling (acting out is more likely due to pain)
All of these situations require that a second caregiver be present to steady and calm the patient (to prevent injury) since the first caregiver must control the position of the sling with the buttons (with at least one hand). A lift company that recommends only one caregiver be present seems to be taking an unnecessary risk.
You are right to worry about using a ceiling lift if you are the only caregiver present.