LOLER and patient handling

Why LOLER needs to catch up with patient handling

The Health and Safety Executive’s LOLER review is a chance to make patient handling safer and simpler.

Written in November 2025 by Graham Bramley, Managing Director of Bramley Engineering (external link will open in a new browser tab or window).
 

Why LOLER matters in patient handling

Patient transfer is some of the most sensitive and safety-critical work in health and social care. Hoists and patient slings help people move with dignity, reduce the risk of falls, and protect staff from injury. The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) sit behind all of that, setting out how equipment should be examined and how lifting should be planned and supervised.
 

What works well and what has fallen behind

The principles remain sound. Since 1998, LOLER has supported safer practice by asking whether equipment is strong and stable, properly maintained, and used by competent people. What has not kept pace is the way we demonstrate compliance. Too much of the process still lives in paper files that are hard to find when you are short of time on a busy ward or in a care home.
 

Everyday pain points at the point of care

Anyone who works in patient handling will recognise the pain points. A hoist is needed, but the latest examination report is in an office file or with a service provider, not at the point of care. These are administrative problems that can quickly become clinical ones, because hesitation or uncertainty is the last thing you want when helping a person move.
 

A straightforward fix: digital by default

The good news is that there is a straightforward fix. Digital records make LOLER easier to manage and easier to trust. When each item of patient transfer equipment has a reliable digital record, the status is clear to everyone who needs to know. Examination results can be uploaded as soon as the work is done. Care teams and managers can check compliance in real time, without waiting for paperwork to surface.
This is particularly helpful in health and social care, where equipment moves between rooms and wards. A digital trail attached to each asset such as a unique QR code reduces guesswork and supports safer decisions.
 

The HSE review: an opportunity to modernise

The Health and Safety Executive is currently gathering information and evidence to simplify LOLER processes. I welcome that. It is a chance to recognise that digital evidence can be at least as robust as paper, and often more so. The aim is not to lower standards – it’s to maintain the existing level of safety while removing the unnecessary friction that gets in the way of good care.
In practical terms, a more modern approach could reduce the administrative burden on staff, speed up audits, and cut the time equipment is out of action while people search for records. Most importantly, it would make it easier to do the safe thing first time, every time.
 

Add your voice

The HSE’s call for evidence runs until 11 November 2025. If you work with patient transfer equipment, your experience matters. Carers, therapists, manual handling advisers, estates and facilities teams, and service managers all see where the current system helps and where it hinders. Please share that insight and submit your comments (external link will open in a new browser tab or window).

LOLER has supported safer lifting for more than two decades. Now is the moment to keep the standard, but modernise the proof. If we do that, we will spend less time chasing paperwork and more time supporting safe, dignified movement for the people in our care.
 

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Further reading and resources

LOLER call for evidence

Manual handling legislation

Independent Living has an area dedicated to moving and handling equipment

Risk assessment and Hoist FAQs

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