19/09/2026
‼️Recent MHRA Safety Alert in UK ‼️
🔺 Between 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2025, the MHRA received 22 reports of incidents with a fatal outcome during patient transfers.
🔺The problems described may affect all hoists and slings. Investigations into incidents often found similar contributing factors, which are consistent with the themes raised in Medical Device Alert MDA/2014/054 and Patient Safety Alert NHS/PSA/W/2015/010, indicating that existing guidance has not been reliably and systematically implemented
🔺 5 ACTIONS have been listed for immediate attention - here are just 2 (see GOV.UK for full document)
Action 1. Ensure that standardised pre-use checks are in place and completed for all hoists and slings
(aligned with manufacturer’s IFU) to identify
unsafe states. Pre-use checks should include a
pause-and-check step after initial load take-up
but before the patient is entirely lifted to verify
that all sling attachment points are securely
attached before proceeding.
Action 5. Training for staff (and patients and their families or carers where applicable) should be relevant to their role and include the relevant hoist and sling types in use, correct attachment and fitting techniques, recognitions of unsafe equipment states, when to stop, escalate, and report incidents and near misses
‼️ Similar action is needed in Ireland ‼️
