Unicare Health enables elevated patient handling with Lunch, Lift & Learn
Lunch, Lift & Learn
– Mastering Safe Manual Handling with Compassion and Dignity
Wednesday 30 April 2025
Technology Park Function Centre, Bentley
Manual handling plays a crucial role in the daily lives of many individuals with disabilities, facilitating their ability to move through the day. Safe and effective patient handling techniques are far from one-size-fits-all, so staying up to date with the latest manual handling equipment and techniques helps ensure the safety, comfort, and dignity of individuals during transfers, while also protecting the health and well-being of their caregivers.
This popular workshop, offered in both morning and afternoon sessions, quickly sold out and attracted nearly 30 therapists per session, all eager to enhance and refresh their manual handling expertise.
Sponsored by Allegro Concepts in partnership with Unicare Health, the sole distributor of Allegro hoists in Western Australia, this workshop highlighted the importance of safe manual handling through practical demonstrations using the Allegro equipment range and collaborative discussions.
Led by Natasha Nutt, Occupational Therapist and Director of Movementum, the workshop focused on building manual handling skills essential for assessing, prescribing, and integrating lifters and slings into care routines. Natasha, with over 15 years specialising in manual handling, risk assessment and support of people with disabilities, embodies Movementum's mission of "Safe Work, Quality Care - To improve the safety and quality of care provided to those with disabilities in our community.”
Getting Started
To create a safe and dignified care routine, it is important to take a holistic approach and consider each client’s unique needs. Every person will have different care requirements, mobility goals, functional abilities, and support teams. A strong understanding of equipment and techniques, along with the use of services such as equipment trials, can help improve assessments. By combining clinical knowledge with clear communication, proper training, and open conversations with everyone involved in the client’s care, you can achieve a more respectful and effective care routine.
Slings
To create the perfect partnership between sling choice, lifter/hoist choice and final positioning – we first addressed sling selection. Therapists must partner the correct sling with their client, taking into consideration client specific factors, like skin integrity, transfer frequency, location of transfers, and more. Identifying these factors will better assist you to select the optimal sling for the task.
When out-of-the-box slings don’t address all factors, sling customisation could be the solution. Common customisations include increasing head support, adjusting the body width, adding slide sheet material to the leg sections, and more.
Natasha also emphasised the importance of sling checks and cleaning.
The Lifter Range
Natasha unpacked the different lifter options in the Allegro range, as well as addressing how to identify client specific factors that will assist in discerning the hoist with the necessary features.
For weight-bearing clients, a standing lifter like the Salsa 200 Hoist could be assessed.
For clients that require full body support, Allegro supplies a range of lifting hoists that can accommodate. The Sonata 150 Hoist, Alto 200 Hoist and Forte 320 Hoist were there on the day to demonstrate different features that therapists can look for to partner with their client’s specific needs.
A Sonata 150 Hoist has a 150kg SWL and is smaller in size and footprint, which makes it suitable for small spaces.
The Alto 200 Hoist is larger, with a 200kg SWL, but allows a more generous patient space and a taller lifting height.
The Forte 320 Hoist is designed to accommodate bariatric clients up to 320kg, and has exceptional under bed clearance.
Yoke Selection
A discussion on yoke attachments emphasized the different features of each and their benefits. A 2-Point Yoke is versatile, and considerably effective for seated transfers. A 4-Point Yoke offers improved weight distribution and more patient space, ideal for clients with limited hip and spinal flexion. A pivot frame offers improved control over the level of tilt – additionally a power pivot frame can eliminate carer strain when changing client positioning.
Practice makes Perfect
Following comprehensive discussions on positioning considerations, attendees were encouraged to split into groups and try the equipment themselves. This hands-on experience of hoisting and being hoisted was invaluable to the therapists, providing practical insights into the manual handling experience.
A Shared Lunch
The morning and afternoon sessions were handed over with a joint lunch, where close to 60 attendees were able to mingle and share manual handling discussions. This opportunity to networking and knowledge exchange in such a large group can be rare for these busy therapists.
Thank you
We’d like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Natasha for sharing her time and expertise with us, and extend our gratitude to Allegro for their continuing partnership with Unicare Health.
Thank you to the participants of the day who share our passion for elevated healthcare and commitment to advancing manual handling practices. We trust you found this workshop beneficial and we hope to see you again soon at future Unicare Health clinical training opportunities.
