Hoist Broken Down Right Now? Here's What to Do, Then Call Us in Smethwick

This page is for the moment it has already gone wrong. Read the first section before anything else.

If Someone Is Suspended

Talk to them. Check they are comfortable, that nothing hurts, that they can breathe easily. If they are in pain, in distress, or in an awkward position they cannot hold, call 999 — do that first and do not feel you have to explain yourself. Stay with them and keep them warm.

Do not climb under the hoist, do not stand on a chair, bath edge or step stool to reach the motor, and do not push, shake or force a hoist that has stopped. Do not cut or unclip the sling.

Emergency lowering or manual release should be used only exactly as the manufacturer's instructions for your model describe, and only by someone confident they can do it safely from a stable position. Some units have a pull cord, some a lever, some a valve on the actuator; they work differently and getting it wrong matters. If you cannot do it safely, keep the person comfortable and call for help — us, or 999 if they are in distress.

If Nobody Is Suspended

Switch the hoist off at the isolator or unplug the charger. Take it out of service, and do not keep pressing buttons to see whether it will come back — a unit that has failed once can fail again under load. Note down what happened while it is fresh:

• What you were doing when it stopped, and where the trolley was on the track.
• Whether it beeped, flashed or showed a code.
• Whether it had been on charge, and whether the charge indicator looked normal recently.
• Whether it made an unusual noise, smelt hot, or felt laboured just before.
• Whether it tripped the electrics.

Those five details often decide what we bring and can turn a second visit into a single one.

What We Can Do Remotely

We can talk you through the checks that are genuinely safe: confirming the unit is powered, that the emergency stop is not latched, that any key isolator is on, that the trolley is properly parked on its charger, and that the handset is paired if it is wireless. We can also tell you whether what you are describing is a stop-use situation. What we cannot do is diagnose a brake, a motor or a control board over the phone, and we will not guess at a part.

Attending

We will tell you honestly what we can offer. Same-day attendance may be possible depending on where you are in the West Midlands and what else is booked; we will not promise it if we cannot deliver it. When we arrive we test in order — supply, charger, battery under load, emergency stop, controls, brake, track — and diagnose before quoting. You approve the full cost before any work starts, with parts quoted separately.

If It Cannot Be Fixed Today

Sometimes the honest answer is that a part is needed, and we will not pretend otherwise to make the call easier. We will tell you what is required, when we expect it, and what that means for using the hoist in the meantime — which is usually not at all. We do not provide loan equipment, so if you need cover urgently, your care provider or the organisation that supplied the hoist is the right call, and we will say so.

Reducing the Chance of the Next One

Most emergency breakdowns we see are the end of a slow decline: a battery that had been fading for weeks, a brake binding, a joint working loose, a charger that had stopped charging properly. A planned service catches all of those. It is the least dramatic advice on this page and the most useful.

Calling Us

Have the make and model ready if you can see it, tell us whether anyone is currently suspended, and describe what the unit does when you press a button. If someone is suspended, say so at the start of the call. You pay a booking fee when you book, the hourly labour rate depends on how soon you need the visit, and the full cost is quoted and approved before work begins.