Hoisting
I have read this thread with great interest as I have hoisted my late husband for 8 years whilst he was at home totally paralysed. I had my training at his re-ablement stroke unit
where I worked with the nurses for 3 weeks before I was finally allowed to take him home.
I have used domiciliary companies ever since, and I can honestly say, that even though the carers are always trained in Manual Handling to include the use of a hoist, they have not got a clue when they arrive. It has been up to me as the main carer to teach the carers how we do things. I have never minded and lots of the girls have done their NVQs here because it is one of the few places where they get to learn everything.
I am a firm believer that when carers come in to your home they adapt accordingly and do it your way, there is no doubt who is in charge when you work as the main carer, one has to be in charge for it to run safely and I believe it should be the person who does it every single day. The same carers do not visit 3 times a day 7 days a week. Of course if you leave the carers to do it by themselves (if you have two carers) then it must be up to one of them to take charge.
Personally I would never use the hoist by myself, there is too much danger. you need to watch the legs, feet, head and arms constantly and also watch the person being hoisted to see if their body language is alright. Speak to them all the time, telling them what you are going to be doing next, no surprises, and that should happen in all caring.
I consider myself very experienced after 11 years 24/7 and am more than willing to help any one on here who would like some advice on hoisting.
Your O.T. is your first port of call if you cannot find good training else where, she should teach you before you start using the hoist.
The landing on the bed and coming off the bed is extremely important, with my husband we used the bed as support for his back bringing it up to sitting position before he landed and in reverse when taking him off the bed. I always supported both his legs as if I was carrying them and pushed and that way I helped swinging the hoist in over the bed. Good luck with this important bit of manual handling, it can be very dangerous if you do not know what you are doing.