Invacare Reliant 450 patient lift review

A powered-base electric lift with a 50 inch lifting range, for transfers a portable lift cannot handle.

Specifications

Specifications above come from Invacare's published feature list for this listing. Treat pricing as approximate, since Amazon pricing moves.

What it does well

• A 450 pound rating, which puts it above the point where most home lifts stop and means bariatric transfers can be done with correctly rated equipment.
• A powered base, so the legs open around a wheelchair or close for a doorway from the pendant instead of from a foot pedal at floor level. That is a real reduction in caregiver bending.
• A 24 to 74 inch range, covering floor pickup at one end and a high hospital bed at the other.
• Two batteries and a wall charger, so one is always charged and a flat battery does not stop a transfer.
• An anti-entrapment sensor that stops downward motion on an obstruction, plus both electronic and manual emergency lowering.

Where it falls short

• Slings are not included and are not interchangeable. The sling must match the person and be approved for this lift and its six-point cradle. Wrong size or wrong sling has put people on the floor from height. Get the sling specified by the therapist who assessed the transfer.
• It does not fold. This lift lives in a room, and it needs the floor space to manoeuvre around a bed and a chair with a person suspended.
• It is heavy and large, which is the price of the capacity. Older houses with narrow doorways may not accommodate it, which is a measurement job before an ordering job.
• Battery discipline is now part of the routine. Two batteries only help if one is genuinely on charge.
• A powered base and an electronic system mean more to go wrong than on a hydraulic lift, and servicing a lift is not a general handyman job.

What owners report

Owners of powered-base lifts consistently single out the same feature: opening the legs from the pendant rather than from a floor pedal. Caregivers describe it as the thing that made the transfer possible on their own, and it comes up far more often than capacity does in published reviews. The 50 inch range draws similar comment from families with a hospital bed at height, where a shorter-range lift leaves the person hanging short of the mattress.

The consistent complaints are size and slings. This is a large machine in a domestic bedroom, and owner reports repeatedly describe rearranging furniture to make it work. Sling confusion is the other recurring theme, and it is the dangerous one: people buy a sling from a listing, find it does not fit or does not attach properly, and improvise. Do not. Our patient lift versus stand assist guide makes the same point, because it is the failure that hurts people.

Who it suits

• Households where a therapist has established that a full body lift is needed and the person is over the capacity of a lighter lift.
• Anyone transferring to or from a high hospital bed as well as from a chair.
• Single caregivers who have been trained and whose assessment supports one-person transfers with this equipment.

Who should skip it

• Anyone who has not had an occupational therapy assessment. The assessment tells you which lift, which sling, and how many people, and none of those are safe to guess.
• Families who need a lift that folds or travels, who should look at the Hoyer Advance.
• Someone who can bear partial weight, for whom a sit-to-stand lift is less intrusive.
• Small bedrooms without clear floor space around the bed.

Alternatives worth considering

Common questions

Will Medicare pay for an Invacare Reliant 450?

Medicare Part B may cover a patient lift as durable medical equipment when a doctor certifies medical necessity and it is supplied by a provider who accepts assignment. Coverage differs between manual and electric models and the rules change. Start with your parent's doctor, since the certification comes from them, and start before you buy, because retail purchases sit outside the process. See our benefits checker for the wider set of programmes.

What sling works with a six-point cradle?

Slings approved by the manufacturer for that lift, in the size a therapist has measured for. Six-point cradles allow more positioning options than two-point bars, which is exactly why sling choice should be specified rather than guessed. Inspect slings before every use and withdraw any with fraying, damaged stitching or worn loops.

Can one caregiver manage a 450 pound transfer?

That is not a question to answer from a catalogue. The lift is designed for single-caregiver operation, and whether your specific transfer is safe with one person depends on the room, the person's behaviour and the caregiver. An occupational therapist decides it. If a transfer regularly feels marginal with one person, it needs two.

Patient lift or sit-to-stand lift?

Whether your parent can take any weight through their legs, grip the handles and follow instructions. If they can, a sit-to-stand is quicker and less intrusive. If they cannot, or if it has ever felt marginal, a full body lift is correct. We set the two out in our patient lift versus stand assist guide.

How much room does a patient lift need?

More than most people expect: enough to bring the base around one side of the bed, rotate with someone suspended, and reach the chair or commode. Measure before buying, and get an occupational therapist to look at the actual room. Furniture usually has to move, and it is better to find that out first.

Keep reading

• Patient lift vs stand assist
• Safe transfers for elderly parents
• Benefits eligibility checker
• Hoyer Advance portable lift review
• Invacare Get-U-Up sit-to-stand review
• Medacure bariatric hospital bed review

This review draws on published specifications, manufacturer figures and the consensus of verified owner reviews. We have not tested this product ourselves, and we say so rather than implying otherwise. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.