The hoist safety alert: turn the equipment register into a care-continuity plan

A September alert with accountable action

On 16 September 2026, MHRA issued National Patient Safety Alert NatPSA/2026/005/MHRA on falls from patient hoists and slings. It applies to those responsible for use, purchase or maintenance across relevant health and care settings and equipment providers. All alert actions are due by 16 September 2027, coordinated by an executive leader or equivalent senior accountable person.

That completion date is not permission to keep using unsafe equipment. MHRA calls for withdrawal of hoists with overdue examinations or unresolved defects. Care Circle’s practical focus is the organisational link between a safety action and the next care shift. Who identifies the device, who authorises its removal, and who arranges an appropriate alternative for the person who depended on it? Those decisions need to be connected before a problem occurs.

Compatibility is a procurement decision

The alert requires documented review of hoist and sling combinations and an accessible local register of approved combinations. MHRA identifies manufacturer instructions as the starting point; exceptional use of another combination needs qualified assessment and supporting evidence. Reassessment is required when equipment combinations or the person’s condition change.

For purchasing teams, the implication is to stop treating a replacement sling as an interchangeable stock item. A product that arrives quickly is not automatically appropriate. Put the intended device, use and assessment route on the requisition. Ask who confirms suitability before the item enters service and how front-line staff will recognise the approved combination. This is particularly important when equipment moves between buildings or comes from a loan service with a different stock range.

The register needs to answer a shift-level question

MHRA also requires review of device-management systems and plans for maintenance, examination and replacement. HSE’s equipment-safety guidance explains that work equipment must be suitable, maintained and used by trained people, with lifting rules applied according to the equipment’s function and use. A register is therefore more useful when it supports decisions, rather than only listing purchases.

Care Circle recommends a service view showing where each item is, who depends on it, which task is next due and who receives a failed-check report. Keep the equipment identifier consistent across the maintenance report, booking system and local label. Where an item belongs to another organisation, record the responsible contact and escalation route. A manager should be able to answer what happens tonight if that item cannot be used, without searching several disconnected spreadsheets.

A spare is useful only if it is usable

A contingency stock list should be tested against the needs of the people supported, the available accessories, staff competence and the physical environment. A spare hoist stored elsewhere may require collection, charging, checks and an approved sling before it can support anyone. Estimate those steps from the service’s actual arrangements, not a supplier’s general delivery promise.

Care Circle recommends discussing alternative support with the appropriate competent care and moving-and-handling professionals. Do not improvise an unsafe manual transfer because equipment is unavailable. Check supplier terms for out-of-hours contact, replacement processes and what information they need to identify a compatible item. Record which arrangements have been confirmed and which remain assumptions. This approach gives procurement a practical way to compare continuity support alongside price, without asserting that every service needs identical spare stock.

Outsourcing does not end provider oversight

CQC Regulation 15 states that England providers retain responsibility when premises or equipment tasks are delegated to contractors or suppliers. MHRA’s Managing medical devices guidance, last updated in 2021, covers purchasing, use, maintenance, repair and disposal of reusable devices. These are established responsibilities, not evidence that a contractor’s signature automatically resolves every risk.

Bring the relevant care, purchasing and maintenance leads together to review open actions. Ask whether staff have been shown the equipment actually used in the service and know how to stop and report a concern. Review replacement planning before end-of-life equipment becomes an urgent purchase. The constructive outcome is a system in which a reported defect triggers appropriate action and the affected person still receives planned, safe support. Compliance records then describe what the service genuinely does.

For equipment provided into someone’s home, make the contact route usable for that setting. The provider should agree how staff report a defect, how the equipment owner receives it and how the person is supported while an assessed alternative is arranged. Confirm access and transport dependencies before relying on a replacement promise. Avoid treating a supplier’s general service standard as proof that suitable equipment can reach this particular address at any hour.