Hoists, Slings and Lifting Equipment in Irish Care Settings: HSA Guide

In an Irish care setting, a patient or resident hoist is workplace equipment for your staff and, separately, a medical device. As workplace equipment it falls under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 (S.I. No. 299 of 2007). The Regulations' Schedule 1 lists "Patient hoist" with a thorough examination period of 6 months. This guide sets out what the official Irish sources say about hoists, slings and related handling equipment, and where they are silent. For the wider rules on examinations, see our guide to thorough examination of lifting equipment.

Which rules apply

Staff safety and resident care are dealt with under different legislation, and it helps to keep them apart.

• HSA: staff and workplace safety, under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 and the General Application Regulations 2007. This includes the equipment staff use to move residents.
• Resident care: the care and welfare of residents in designated centres is dealt with under the Health Act 2007 regulations (see the resident safety section below).
• HSE: as a provider, the Health Service Executive publishes its own people handling policy and safety alert. These are written for HSE services; they are useful reference points for other providers but are not law for private operators.

The Irish requirements are in the 2007 Regulations, and that is what the rest of this guide relies on.

What the 2005 Act and the Regulations require

Under section 8 of the 2005 Act, as shown on the Law Reform Commission's revised acts site, an employer must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety, health and welfare of employees. The listed duties include the design, provision and maintenance of plant and machinery that is safe and without risk to health, safe systems of work, and the information, instruction, training and supervision needed. Section 10 adds that training must be adapted to take account of new or changed risks, be repeated periodically as appropriate, and be given on the introduction of new work equipment. Section 10 does not set a fixed refresher interval.

The General Application Regulations add equipment-specific duties:

• Regulation 42 (work equipment for lifting loads): lifting operations must be properly planned and appropriately supervised, lifting machinery must be marked with its safe working load, and the safe working load must not be exceeded except during testing directed by a competent person.
• Regulation 30 (inspection of work equipment): equipment must be inspected after installation and after reassembly at a new location where safety depends on it, and periodically where it is exposed to deterioration. Inspections are by a competent person and results must be recorded. The page states a five-year retention period for those inspection records.
• Regulation 52 (examination and testing of lifting equipment): equipment altered or repaired in a way that affects safe operation must be examined by a competent person before returning to service, and any conditions in an examination report must be followed. Lifting equipment of a type listed in Schedule 1 must not be used unless a competent person has examined it within the stated interval.
• Regulation 53 (reports by competent persons): the competent person prepares a report of each examination, including the particulars in Part E of Schedule 1.

Regulation 52 is annotated as amended with effect from 1 April 2020. Check the current text of Schedule 1 and the Regulations.

Thorough examination of hoists and slings

Part B of Schedule 1 lists "Patient hoist" with a period of 6 months. It also lists lifting accessories (including chains, ropes, rings, hooks, shackles and similar items) at 6 months. HSA guidance for health and social care settings goes further and says that hoists and slings must be thoroughly examined by a competent person at least once every six months. An earlier HSA information sheet on mobile patient hoists and slings (dated March 2011) says the same and states that slings are included in the six-monthly examination.

The HSE safety alert on safe use of patient hoists and slings (issued May 2015, revised April 2019) also describes a six-monthly thorough examination by a competent person, including slings, with a written record kept on the premises.

Points from the Regulations and the HSA guidance that managers often need:

• What the report contains: Part E of Schedule 1 lists the report particulars, including identification of the equipment, the date of the examination and the previous one, the safe working load, any defect that is or could become a danger, and the latest date for the next examination.
• More frequent examination: under Regulation 53, the examiner may set a shorter interval than the Schedule 1 period and must give the owner and user written reasons.
• Serious defects: where the examiner advises immediate cessation of work, a copy of the report goes to the HSA within 20 days of completing the examination. Regulation 53 places this duty on the competent person.

One point the sources do not settle: Regulations 49 and 57 deal with lifting accessories (Regulation 57 refers to chains, ropes and slings), and the text we read does not say whether those provisions are intended for textile patient slings. For patient slings, the HSA guidance and information sheet are the clearest statements in the sources above. Our suggestion: ask your competent person to confirm in writing what their examination covers, including slings.

Checks before each use and routine maintenance

The HSA guidance says staff should visually check the hoist and sling before each use and report any defects, and that routine maintenance checks should be arranged in addition. Defective equipment should be taken out of use and labelled as unsafe, and out-of-service hoists should be kept apart from those in use. Employers should follow the manufacturer's instructions for installation, use, maintenance and service life. The HSE policy asks that equipment be easily accessible and properly maintained with service records retained, and the HSE alert says staff should confirm the sling is secured on the hoist before lifting.

Risk assessment and avoiding manual handling

Regulation 69 requires the employer to organise work or use suitable means, such as mechanical equipment, to avoid manual handling of loads where possible. Where it cannot be avoided, the employer must assess the work using the risk factors in Schedule 3 and reduce the risk, especially of back injury. Schedule 3 groups those factors under the load, the physical effort, the working environment, the requirements of the activity and individual factors such as lack of adequate knowledge or training.

The HSA guidance applies this to hoisting. It recommends a documented assessment using the TILE or TILEEO framework (Task, Individual, Load, Environment, Equipment and Other), and says to check that the person's weight does not exceed the safe working load. It also advises that moving and handling plans be easy to access, including for agency and temporary staff. The HSE policy asks for people handling assessments to be reviewed regularly and not less frequently than four-monthly. That is an HSE requirement for HSE services, not a figure from the Regulations. For the training side, see our guide to manual handling and patient moving training in Ireland.

Selecting equipment and slings

The HSA guidance lists points to check when buying, and says the list is not exhaustive. They include CE marking and a Declaration of Conformity, the safe working load marked on both hoist and sling, compatibility between hoist, slings and beds or baths, suitability for the floor and space, cleaning and infection control, maintenance needs and service life, and storage and battery charging. It says clinicians, not the guidance, decide what suits each person.

Training and instruction

The HSA guidance says training should be given by a competent person, be specific to the setting, and be refreshed at no more than three-year intervals or sooner if risks change, for example when new equipment is introduced. Records should be kept. The HSE policy likewise says refresher training should be at not greater than three-yearly intervals. The three-year figure is attributed here to the HSA guidance and the HSE policy only; check the current text of the Regulations and the Act. Our suggestion: treat it as a benchmark and document your reasons if you choose a shorter cycle.

Records to keep

The HSA guidance lists records that should be available for inspection:

• A register of lifting equipment and accessories, with identifying marks, date of first use and date of last thorough examination.
• The EC Declaration of Conformity for each hoist.
• Thorough examination reports, kept at the equipment's location.
• Risk assessments and individual moving and handling plans.
• Training and instruction records.

The HSA guidance says certain work-related injuries and fatalities must be reported to the HSA, and that adverse incidents and near misses should be reported internally to a designated person. It also notes that hoists and slings are medical devices regulated by the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA), and describes reporting device incidents to the HPRA as voluntary.

Resident safety and care regulations

For designated centres for older people, resident care is dealt with under the Health Act 2007 (Care and Welfare of Residents in Designated Centres for Older People) Regulations 2013 (S.I. No. 415 of 2013), as made. Regulation 26 requires a risk management policy covering hazard identification and risk assessment, including accidental injury. Regulation 17 and Schedule 6 require premises and equipment for residents to be in good working order. Regulation 16 covers staff training and supervision. The text as made does not mention hoists, slings or manual handling by name; check the current text, including any amendments. Our suggestion: for the expectations on a specific centre, use the official guidance and your inspection reports. These resident-care provisions do not replace the HSA-related duties above.

What the sources do not say

• The HSA guidance carries the code HSA0522. The HSE alert and HSE policy both show review or revision dates of April 2021, so check for current versions.
• The HSE policy does not specify examination intervals for hoists or slings.

A practical checklist

Our suggestion, not a legal requirement: for each Dublin site, keep one register listing every hoist and sling set, its last and next examination dates, and the named competent person. Add examination dates to the maintenance calendar, record pre-use check findings, and review handling plans when a resident's condition changes. Align this with the risk assessments in your safety statement and risk assessment so hoisting is covered there.

Learnsignal's offices are off Baggot Street in Dublin, and we offer in-person training from there. For current details, see our CPD pages.

Frequently asked questions

How often must a patient hoist be thoroughly examined in Ireland?

Part B of Schedule 1 to the General Application Regulations 2007 lists "Patient hoist" with a period of 6 months. The HSA guidance says at least once every six months by a competent person, with the possibility of shorter intervals if the examiner recommends it in writing.

Are slings included in the six-month examination?

The HSA information sheet (March 2011) says slings are included in the six-monthly examination, and the HSE alert says the examination should include slings. Schedule 1 separately lists lifting accessories at 6 months. Confirm with your examiner what their report covers.

Does the HSE people handling policy bind private nursing homes?

The policy states that it applies to HSE services. Other providers can use it as a reference, but their legal duties come from the 2005 Act and the 2007 Regulations.

Who is responsible when a resident falls during hoisting?

Both sets of rules can apply. Staff safety and workplace equipment duties come from the 2005 Act and the 2007 Regulations; the resident's care and welfare in a designated centre is dealt with under the Health Act 2007 regulations. Seek advice on the reporting duties that apply to any specific incident.