Overhead lifting takes the strain off Sevenoaks staff
The Kapiti Coast is a popular region to retire to, and Sevenoaks Retirement Village at Paraparaumu Beach offers both independent living and hospital level aged residential care.
A highly-skilled team of nurses and healthcare assistants are employed by village owners, Kapiti Retirement Trust, to look after residents who need more dedicated care. But the physical strain of transferring residents in and out of bed each day using mobile floor hoists was proving problematic.
So in 2019 the Trust partnered with Cubro to install an overhead lifting solution in one room as an initial trial to see what difference it could make.
“We thought we ought to try it and I could see that we would have a lot less injuries, and it would be easier for our staff,” says Cynthia Tarrant, Kapiti Retirement Trust Group Manager Resident Wellness. “We had a trial for a few months with just one room and one resident and the staff just loved it. So then we did a business case.”
Today, Sevenoaks has overhead lifting installed in 37 bedrooms, transforming the way staff interact with residents and perform routine daily transfers. Healthcare assistants report the ceiling-mounted hoists are very fast and much easier to use than the previous floor hoists.
Tania, a Registered Nurse, jokes “it would be rather silly” to consider going back to the old system as overhead lifting is far superior.
“I just think to myself… when I was a caregiver, where was it all those years ago? When you think about the strain it put on your back pushing a hoist around and things like that. It would have made a huge difference back then but I’m glad that it’s here now.”
The new system also has the tick of approval from residents themselves. Dr Bob says the old hoists were “like a medieval contraption.” But the overhead lifting solution is much smoother and easier for everybody. “And it works pretty well for me.”
Installation by Cubro was a straight-forward process and residents only had to move out of their rooms for one day. And the best news is Sevenoaks recorded zero manual handling injuries amongst staff in the first six months of use.
