Ebay might be a starting point

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/155267284314

Bill

I note most of these things (apart from very heavy duty vehicle air bags) are termed as ‘emergency’.

Personally, I prefer hydraulic rather than pneumatic, particularly for larger lifts (as in ‘higher) as any split would result in a very rapid deflation. So that is my advice – go hydraulic, like most fluid lifting devices around.

I hope that I have understood what you are after correctly

You only need about 3 PSI in these bags & I inflate airbags ( size 2.4 * 1.5 diam) for laying moorings weighing up to 2.5 tonnes with a simple high volume, low pressure pump costing £18-00. iin under 15 minutes. But mine is 240 V & you want 12 V

May I suggest 2 options first is an inflatable dinghy pump as sold by marinescene & other yacht chandlers- There are many- Marine scene

Or you could just use a simple hand pump as I use for my Avon dinghy. Stirrup pump they do foot operated ones. It is not rocket science to make the adaptors fit You would inflate your bags in a 30 strokes of the pump & for the cost it is worth experimenting. You will not have battery issues to worry about.

For batteries one could just get small ones & keep them charged such as a scooter battery. Or go into an RC model shop & buy a couple of LIPO batteries & a charger & get them to explain how to charge & store them. They may even solder the correct connections on for you if you ask.

Scroll down to the videos on Bills link and the application of the device and what is required becomes clear.

Mike

Apologies. I thought that he had the cushions but could not pump them up. Careless of me

This forum no longer allows me to edit my post which is a little iritating. Otherwise I would remove it.

But if it is air bags that are wanted, then go & see a bouncy castle firm & get some glued up. Then use the pumps that I suggested. They could probably make the bag seat shaped as well, thus putting the patient into a sitting position

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 15/12/2022 09:43:25

The issue with improvised systems will be stability.

The proper thing is made as several sections to help control wobbling around as it goes up. Presumably there is something clever inside the bags to justify the outrageous price.

The big car jack bags are seriously squidgy in all directions. They rely on the weight of the car and grip of the un-lifted wheels to stop them flexing their way out.

For people lifting I'd be much happier with the airbag in some sort of parallelogram style frame with a seat on top so the airbag just lifts. The frame gives stability.

Clive

Has the OP considered exactly how he would get the bag under the casualty? Is the intention just to raise their upper body into a sitting position untill help comes, or raise the entire frame. How does the bag help get the person on to their feet without them rolling off & sustaining further injury. Or just as bad – creating undue stress during the process.

Is the intention to make a comfortable bed?- In which case a decent lilo would be just as good. Placed correctly & then inflated might ease the pressure points for a while.

Ambulances can take a long time to arrive.

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 15/12/2022 11:22:27

Thinking differently would not a demountable frame 2.2 M tall a bit like a child's swing with a small electric hoist work?

4 stainless steel 25mm diam legs & a short cross bar with 4 sockets. Just put it together over them & the hoist could be on 1 leg with a dynema cord going up over a light pulley clipped to the top

If they fall over a lot, have one permanently welded up with 4 small castors & just move it over them.

Lift the casualty with a webbing strop under the arms.

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 15/12/2022 15:21:29

When my father was alive I had a similar problem, he used a wheelchair to get around his bungalow but would fall at times either from a chair or bed and end up lying on the floor overnight. As he only had bad legs and couldn't use them to lift himself, he needed me to lift him onto a seat. I thought of this problem and the main difficulty is getting something under them initially to use as a support to lift. Most places that have to do this use two people, one either side to lift under the arms, difficult for one person particularly if the person struggles. Probably something along the lines of a screw lift chair with bars which could be slipped under a person even without lifting them to do so would work. Air cushions would be difficult to slide under a person unless you had room to roll them to the side and back, again difficult with a non co-operative one. Maybe there is something out there in the medical apparatus field that would work but I think most places that would have a use for it just use two people (or more0.

Bill: I will be very surprised if Remap don't respond, but PM me if they don't.

Bill, having nursed my late wife through her final years of young-onset Alzheimer's (dementia) at home, including a number of falls — but not the frequency you are talking about — I can relate. And I just can't imagine how you are coping virtually on your own with this situation of two dementia patients falling regularly.

Here in Australia we have government programs designed to keep people living at home rather than moving into a nursing home, so they pay for the kind of assistance you need. Is there no equivalent in the UK? Have you spoken to any kind of dementia support group or social worker to find out what kind of support might be available? There must be some kind of national Alzheimer's support association that can steer you toward such help.

Two dementia patients living on their own and falling over regularly relying on the help of a relative residing outside their home is not a sustainable situation. It is a degenerative disease so things get progressively worse, usually more quickly than you anticipate. The time to seek help is before you need it, not after. Things can get overwhelming fast.

Your biggest problem is not getting Mum and Dad back up off the ground, but what is inevitably going to happen to them on the way down. Broken hips, particularly among older women who have brittle bones due to hormonal issues, are almost guaranteed to happen. At that age, they usually never recover from the injury. And one head blow on a sink or corner of a table, or the floor could be even more catastrophic.

I don't mean to be alarmist, but really you need help and need it fast. (Been there, done that.)

Hopefully others on here with experience of such things in the UK will be able to offer suggestions on whom to contact for support in your time of need.

And it may well be that they have reached the stage where living at home alone is no longer sustainable for Mum and Dad. A tough call to make, and one you should be able to get some kind of professional help to make, usually in the form of an occupational therapist or similar's assessment of their capabilities and circumstances.

Reaching out for practical help with the lifting issues on this forum was a good start, but please look at reaching out through the medical and social support services for a much broader range of help that you are rapidly heading towards needing.

From the net, this might be a place to start (if you haven't already of course)

Alzheimer's Society – the Dementia Connect Service for England, Wales and Northern Ireland can be contacted on 0333 150 3456 or email connect@alzheimers.org.uk. The helpline offers information, support, guidance and signposting to other appropriate organisations.

They also have a list of available support on their website here Alzheimers.org.uk click on "Get Support" at the top of the page for more information.

Forgive me if you have already been through all this stuff to no avail, but your situation sounds just awful to me and I am just hoping you might be able to get the help you so desperately need.

Edited By Hopper on 16/12/2022 12:37:44

Edited By Hopper on 16/12/2022 12:41:08

Edited By Hopper on 16/12/2022 12:41:45