Acute Care

353 Ceiling Track Hoists With Curtain Hoppers Installed At Midland Met Hospital

We supported Midland Metropolitan University Hospital with the design and installation of 353 ceiling track hoists for a combination of single rooms and 4/6 bed bays

Client Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust

Location Smethwick, Birmingham

Architect HKS Architects

Contractor Balfour Beatty

Sector

Health

The Challenge

Large acute hospitals present complex challenges when it comes to safe patient handling and mobility. Clinical teams must support patients with a wide range of mobility needs, from assisted transfers and rehabilitation through to bariatric care, all while maintaining patient dignity and minimising risk for staff.

At Midland Metropolitan University Hospital, the Trust required a solution that would work seamlessly within both single rooms and multi-bed bays, integrate with privacy curtain systems, and support the operational demands of a busy acute hospital. The design also needed to ensure flexibility for staff, allowing efficient patient transfers while maintaining high standards of safety and infection control.

Approach

Innova worked closely with the Trust and the wider project team to design an overhead hoisting solution that was fully integrated into the hospital’s ward layouts from the outset. By incorporating ceiling track hoists into the building design during construction, the system could be optimised to support clinical workflows while ensuring accessibility across the inpatient environment.

The solution was carefully planned to allow hoist units to be shared between bed spaces where appropriate, providing flexibility for staff while helping the Trust manage equipment efficiently across the hospital.

Implementation

In total, Innova installed 353 ceiling track hoist systems across the hospital, covering both single patient rooms and 4–6 bed bays to ensure full accessibility across every ward.

A range of hoist units were supplied to support varying patient needs, including the AirRise200, with a safe working load of 200kg, alongside dual hoist systems capable of supporting bariatric patients up to 500kg.

A key feature of the installation was Innova’s innovative Curtain Hopper System. This solution integrates AirGlide360 ceiling tracks with AirRise ceiling hoists in a flexible H-frame configuration, enabling hoists to travel smoothly across privacy curtain tracks in multi-bed bays. The design allows staff to move patients easily between bed spaces without disruption, while maintaining patient dignity and privacy.

Results

The completed installation provides a comprehensive patient handling solution across the entire inpatient environment, supporting safer and more efficient patient transfers for both staff and patients.

By integrating ceiling track hoists into the hospital’s design from the outset, the system helps reduce the risk of musculoskeletal injuries associated with manual handling while improving accessibility across wards. The flexible design also ensures clinical teams can respond quickly to the varying mobility needs of patients in a busy acute hospital setting. The project demonstrates the value of early collaboration between healthcare providers, construction teams and specialist equipment suppliers, ensuring patient handling solutions are embedded into the healthcare environment from day one.

“Sandwell & West Birmingham NHS Trust is pleased to have partnered with Innova Care Concepts for supply and installation of the ceiling track hoists in our new-build Midland Metropolitan University Hospital. The package consists of 353 hoists which will be installed throughout the hospital with a combination of single rooms and 4/6 bed bays. Before choosing to partner with Innova, we did some extensive research into the different options available in the market and found Innova’s proposal provided us a perfect solution to our requirements.”

Emma Loosley, Senior Commissioning Manager, Midland Met Project Team, Sandwell & West Birmingham NHS Trust