The short answer
- Never take the full weight of a personIf they cannot bear any of their own weight, that is a job for a hoist and two people, not one person lifting alone.
- Check task, individual, load and environment firstA few seconds working through what you are about to do, what they can still manage, and whether the room is clear removes most of the risk.
- Support the move, do not perform itLet them push up, step and turn as far as they can, and use your legs and a firm stance rather than your back and your arms.
- Ask the council for an occupational therapy assessmentA hoist, a transfer board or slide sheets are usually provided free once an occupational therapist has assessed the need.
This guide is about helping yourself do this safely. If moving your parent has become more than you can manage on your own, a carer can take on some or all of these visits.
The one rule that matters
Why you should never take the full weight of another person
Manual handling means any moving, supporting or holding of a person by hand or bodily force, and it covers using a walking frame, a wheelchair, a hoist or a sling as much as it covers helping somebody stand up. The rule underneath all of it is simple.
Do not lift the whole, or a significant part, of somebody's weight by hand. If your parent cannot support any of their own weight, that is a job for equipment and, usually, two people, not a job for one person to carry out alone.
What keeps you both safe
- Checking what they can still do for themselves before you start
- Using a firm, wide stance and bending your knees rather than your back
- Using a transfer belt, a hoist or a slide sheet once the task calls for one
- Stopping and asking for a second pair of hands if something feels wrong
- Explaining what you are about to do and waiting for them to be ready
What causes most injuries
- Lifting someone under the arms, which is where shoulder injuries to them and back injuries to you both start
- Trying to catch or hold the whole of someone's weight during a fall
- Rushing a transfer because a visit or an appointment is running late
- Repeating the same lift several times a day without a break
- Assuming yesterday's technique still works if their strength has changed overnight
The NHS is direct about this: the most common injuries carers get are back injuries, and a badly handled transfer can also skin, bruise or dislocate a joint in the person being moved. Employers have a legal duty under the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 to avoid hazardous lifting and assess the risk of any that cannot be avoided. That duty does not fall on a family member caring informally, but the same habits protect you both just as well whether or not the law requires them of you.
Before every move
Four checks to make before you help someone move
Every professional manual handling assessment comes down to the same four questions, whatever the setting. Running through them takes a few seconds and it is the difference between a move that goes smoothly and one that does not.
Task
What are you trying to do, exactly?
Standing up from a low chair is harder than from a high one. Turning in bed is different from getting out of it. Name the exact movement before you start, rather than "helping them up" in general.
Individual
What can they still do for themselves today?
Ask them to push up, take a step or turn as far as they are able before you support the rest. What they managed yesterday is not always what they can manage today, especially after a bad night or a change in medication.
Load
Can they bear any of their own weight?
If they can push up through their legs or hold on and steady themselves, you are supporting, not lifting. If they cannot bear weight at all, that is a two-person job with a hoist, not a job for one person on their own.
Environment
Is the space clear and is there room to move?
Rugs, trailing cables, a wet bathroom floor or furniture in the way turn a manageable move into a fall. Check the route and the lighting before you help them stand, not while you are already holding them.
TILE, for Task, Individual, Load, Environment, is the framework the Health and Safety Executive sets out for assessing a manual handling risk. It is written for people managing staff, but the same four questions work just as well for a family checking a move is safe.
None of this needs to be a formal process for a family carer, but the habit is worth building. It matters most for the moves that happen without thinking, getting up from the sofa, turning over in the night, stepping into the shower, because those are the ones nobody plans for in advance. How to deal with falls covers what to check in a room more generally, and the same environment check applies here.
Moving someone without lifting
How to help someone stand, turn or move to a chair
Most transfers a family carer does day to day are one of a small number of moves: standing up, turning in bed, or shifting from a bed to a chair or commode. The same sequence works for all of them.
- 1
Get the space and equipment ready first
Before you touch themMove furniture out of the path, put the wheelchair or commode brakes on, and have a transfer belt to hand if they have one. Sorting this out first means you are not holding your parent while you also try to clear a rug. - 2
Explain what is about to happen and ask them to help
Every timeTell them what you are doing and count together, "ready, steady, stand" is common, so they push or step at the same moment you support them rather than being taken by surprise. - 3
Support, do not lift
During the moveStand close with a wide stance and bent knees. If you are using a transfer belt, hold it rather than their arms or clothing. Let them take as much of their own weight through their legs and hands as they can. - 4
Move with them, not for them
Stepping or turningPivot on your feet rather than twisting your back, and match your speed to theirs. If a transfer needs more than a small step or a short pivot, it is a job for a hoist rather than for holding on and hoping. - 5
Settle them and check in
AfterwardsMake sure they are steady and comfortable before you let go fully, and ask how that felt. A transfer that was hard today is worth mentioning to a GP or occupational therapist rather than assuming it will be easier tomorrow.
If your parent has had a fall recently and has become nervous about standing or walking, how to deal with falls covers rebuilding their confidence as well as reducing the risk of another one.
Equipment that takes the strain
The equipment that means nobody has to lift
Most of what makes moving and handling safer is equipment rather than technique, and much of it does not have to come out of your own pocket.
| What it is for | How to get it | |
|---|---|---|
| Hoist (mobile or ceiling track) | Moving someone who cannot bear any of their own weight, between a bed, a chair and a commode. | An occupational therapist assesses the need and the right sling size; usually free once assessed. |
| Transfer board or turntable | Sliding someone across a gap, such as from a bed to a wheelchair, without a full stand. | Through an occupational therapy assessment, or bought directly for lighter needs. |
| Slide sheet | Repositioning someone in bed, turning them or moving them up the mattress, without dragging on their skin. | Through an occupational therapy assessment, or bought directly; inexpensive if you need one quickly. |
| Transfer belt | Giving you something secure to hold during a stand or a short walk, instead of an arm or clothing. | Bought directly; no assessment needed and the cheapest item on this list. |
| Raised chair, bed or toilet seat | Reducing how far someone has to lower and raise themselves, so fewer transfers need full support. | An occupational therapist can recommend the right height and supply some items free. |
Hoist (mobile or ceiling track)
- What it is for
- Moving someone who cannot bear any of their own weight, between a bed, a chair and a commode.
- How to get it
- An occupational therapist assesses the need and the right sling size; usually free once assessed.
Transfer board or turntable
- What it is for
- Sliding someone across a gap, such as from a bed to a wheelchair, without a full stand.
- How to get it
- Through an occupational therapy assessment, or bought directly for lighter needs.
Slide sheet
- What it is for
- Repositioning someone in bed, turning them or moving them up the mattress, without dragging on their skin.
- How to get it
- Through an occupational therapy assessment, or bought directly; inexpensive if you need one quickly.
Transfer belt
- What it is for
- Giving you something secure to hold during a stand or a short walk, instead of an arm or clothing.
- How to get it
- Bought directly; no assessment needed and the cheapest item on this list.
Raised chair, bed or toilet seat
- What it is for
- Reducing how far someone has to lower and raise themselves, so fewer transfers need full support.
- How to get it
- An occupational therapist can recommend the right height and supply some items free.
In England, community equipment and minor adaptations costing £1,000 or less must be provided free of charge once assessed, under the Care Act 2014 and the Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014, whatever your parent's income or savings.
To start, contact your council and ask for a needs assessment for your parent and an occupational therapy assessment for equipment; you can ask for a carer's assessment for yourself at the same time. The NHS sets out what a council can typically provide, including free equipment and, in some areas, funded moving and handling training or a direct payment towards training of your choice. Get advice from an occupational therapist or physiotherapist before buying expensive equipment yourself, and ask to trial anything costly first. If your parent's savings are above the local authority threshold, read local authority funding for how the assessment and any charges work.
When to get more help
Signs it is time for more help with moving and handling
Needs in this area tend to change gradually, often after a fall, a hospital stay or a general decline in strength, so it is easy to keep managing a job that has slowly become too much without noticing.
Has any of this happened recently?
0 of 7 ticked
Your own body
Their safety
The day to day
If several of these sound familiar, ask your GP or the council for a fresh occupational therapy assessment; needs are reassessed as they change, not just once. If you decide to bring in a carer for some of these visits, ask directly about their experience with moving and handling when you speak to them, since PrimeCarers checks a carer's identity, right to work and an enhanced DBS check, and interviews them online, rather than their training or qualifications. How many visits a week does my parent need helps work out what a morning or evening routine built around this would cost, and you can search carers near your parent to see who is available. Carers who take on this kind of task for private clients work from the same principles set out in this guide, covered in more detail in moving and handling when working for private clients, if you want to see the fuller approach.
Questions
Questions families ask about moving and handling
Only if they can bear a meaningful amount of their own weight and the move is a short, simple one such as standing from a chair. If they cannot bear weight at all, or the move involves more than a small step or pivot, it needs equipment such as a hoist and, usually, a second person. Never attempt to lift somebody's full weight, and only break that rule in a genuine emergency, after calling 999.
TILE stands for Task, Individual, Load and Environment, the four factors the Health and Safety Executive recommends checking before a manual handling activity. For a family carer it means asking what you are trying to do, what your parent can still manage themselves, how much of their own weight they can bear, and whether the space around you is clear.
Ask your local council for a needs assessment and an occupational therapy assessment. An occupational therapist visits, looks at the moves your parent struggles with, and recommends the right equipment. Apply for a needs assessment on GOV.UK.
In England, community equipment and minor adaptations costing £1,000 or less must be provided free of charge once assessed, whatever your parent's income or savings, under the Care Act 2014. Bigger changes to the home may involve a Disabled Facilities Grant instead, which can be means-tested.
Ask your council when you request a needs assessment. Some areas offer free moving and handling training or courses run alongside occupational therapy visits, and where one is not available locally, you can ask about a direct payment towards training of your own choosing.
Do not try to lift them back up by yourself. Keep them warm and comfortable where they are, check for injury, and call 999 if they are in pain, cannot move a limb, or you are not sure it is safe to help them up. How to deal with falls covers what to do next and how to reduce the chance of another one.
When it is causing you pain, when a transfer now needs two people and you are usually alone, or when your own time no longer stretches to it safely. A carer can cover the visits built around this, such as getting up in the morning or settled at night. Search vetted carers near your parent to see who is available.