Innova Care Concepts has installed 46 overhead hoist systems throughout the newly-built St Peters House Care Home in the remote Orkney Islands, just off the coast of Scotland.
Construction of the building was funded by a £9m investment from the council and the range of hoists provided by Innova will help to futureproof the facility, enabling staff to care for a diverse range of residents.
To better understand the needs of residents, Innova delivered consultation and design services. This ensured the hoist systems provided everything the care home staff and residents needed.
And, for each round trip to discuss the plans, the Innova project management team made a 1000-mile round trip from their base in Wetherby, north Yorkshire.
Bob Oliver, projects director at Innova, said: “Working up in Orkney provides some unique challenges. It’s a beautiful place, but it’s remote and a long way from the Innova offices. Luckily, we were working with some great contractors. They were a local firm, so communication was always open and everything ran smoothly.
“The end result is a really-modern care home that can support the local community for many years. “It’s been brilliant. Being able to deliver a remote project so well really goes to show the strength of the team and we’re pleased our hoist systems will help St Peters House to accommodate residents with a wide range of needs.”
The 46 hoist systems installed by Innova included 40 in private bedrooms that connected through to an en-suite bathroom, four in assisted bathrooms, and two in high-dependency bariatric rooms that were specialised for plus-sized residents.
The systems use magnets and infrared sensors to detect changes in direction on the track. This lets staff alter the path of the hoist automatically, meaning they can focus on resident care rather than operating pulleys and levers.
And all hoists also come with handsets, which was ideal for St Peters House which wanted to cater to different users, including more independent residents who may want to operate the hoist themselves.
St Peters House is set to open in January, providing long-term care for people over the age of 65.