Compass is still being developed and is effectively in beta. Some content and features may be incomplete, change, or not work as expected.
Content is anchored to trusted sources where available, but Compass has not yet been clinically reviewed. It provides general information rather than medical advice.
Feedback helps us identify gaps, errors, usability problems and opportunities to improve Compass over time.
Patient Lifts
Part of Guide to ALS
Independent publisher
This describes who publishes a source, not how reliable it is.
Open source (opens in a new tab)Link checked August 2026
About this source
Guide to ALS’s practical guide.
Where this source is used
Used in 2 places across 1 domain.
Questions
Support
Caregiver Coordination
- How can a caregiver help with transfers safely, including using a hoist or sling?
Adds context
“Using a hoist or sling wrongly, including the wrong sling for the person and not putting the brakes on, can be dangerous.”
A caregiver's account of using a floor hoist at home, which is where the point about loops comes from. He describes picking the right coloured loop on each strap as a constant struggle, and shows one leg-strap arrangement he considered unsafe because the person could fall out of the sling.
One of the major problems we kept having with the sling was figuring out the correct selections of the colored loops on each strap.
Compatibility with the lift brand
Resources
Support
Caregiver Coordination
- How can a caregiver help with transfers safely, including using a hoist or sling?
Further reading
A practical overview of hoists and patient lifts for safer transfers
This is an external source. Compass links to it and describes it but does not hold rights over it. Opening it takes you to the publisher’s own site.