The demise of Loop Fixings on Patient Slings?

“A solution to minimise this safety issue had to be found.”

Following what Silvalea describes as overwhelming success at the 2016 OT Show, the company now plans to release a new product innovation early this year that addresses an issue healthcare practitioners have had to live with for the past two decades.

Exclusively previewed at the show, the Silva-Safety Slot has been praised for providing a solution to the potential hazards of LOOP tapes for standard coat hanger style spreader bar fixings.

A first of its type, the new sling fixings are loop free and provide a streamlined, safer sling tape. Requiring minimal instruction as pick-up positions and colour coding remains the same, the easy to use fixings allow end user care plans to remain unchanged.

Pauline Guilfoyle, product designer and Manging Director of Silvalea, believes this innovation has the potential to be industry changing.

Pauline said: “We have been working on this product innovation for many years, we just had to wait for the technology to catch-up to the idea. Creating a solution for the inherent hazards in loops has long been a personal goal, having seen many injuries on the frail, the vulnerable and paediatric users caused by loops, as well as carer injuries from tripping. A solution to minimise this safety issue had to be found.

“It is not just the injury potential of loops but also it’s the damage to the fixing tapes caused by catching trapping and snagging which could have more severe consequences during a lift. We have seen and repaired untold numbers of slings due to catching, tripping and pulling over the years. We have now found the right combination of design, thread, manufacturing and fabric strength which will allow us to go into production on this patent pending alternative to loop fixings on our premium in-situ sling range in the first part of this year.”

Commenting whether this would be the end of loop tapes, she added: “Not right now. Loop tapes have been used for over 20 years so it will take a while. We certainly won’t be stopping manufacturing loop fixing slings immediately, but one day, yes, we would like to see the Silva-Safety Slot on all our spreader bar, coat hanger fixing slings.”

The company says that the product will be available for sales early this year and more information can be found HERE