How much does a bath hoist cost – and what affects the price?

For people with mobility issues, a bath hoist chair can be one of the biggest investments they make for their home.

And for OTs making a recommendation, they need to find the best piece of kit for their client and their needs — without breaking the bank.

But a bath hoist installation doesn’t have to cost the earth:

With the right understanding of what’s involved (and what affects the price), you can choose the best possible solution to make your bathing routines easier — while keeping the costs within your budget.

Here are the questions you need to ask before you choose to buy:

Do you need an electric bath hoist?

This is often the biggest difference between the types of bath hoist chairs — and it could have the biggest effect on the final price.

A manual bath hoist uses a winding handle to lower and raise the chair from the bath. It’s a simple mechanism based on simple materials, without any circuitry, controls, or other advanced tech.

That’s great for keeping the costs down. But it can mean extra physical work for either you or your carer.

(And if you’re in a care home helping multiple people to bathe every day, that physical effort can start to add up.)

With an electric bath hoist, you can lower and raise the chair with a powered motor. That means less physical effort for you or your carer — and it could be the difference that helps a user to bathe independently.

But that extra technology also means extra costs:

Between the motor, the battery pack, and the controls, an electric bath hoist comes with more materials and more complex mechanisms.

And that means an electric bath hoist usually comes with a higher final price.

Do you need a commode seat?

Most bath hoists are built for a single purpose: to safely move users to and from the bath.

But some bath hoists come with options for commode seating with mobile transporter chassis, so you can include toilet routines without making an extra transfer — saving time and effort for both the user and the carer.

But this extra feature can add to the cost:

While a commode seat isn’t a hi-tech addition to your bath hoist, it does involve extra materials and a more complex design.

So, if toileting isn’t something that you’ll need from your bath hoist, you may be able to save some money by choosing a standard seat.

The other benefit to the commode seat (and this can be purchased without a mobile transporter chassis), is that it is a narrower seat than the standard seat so if you have a narrow bathtub, it could be the answer you need!

Do you need a safety harness?

Any good bath hoist will come with armrests — and often some kind of front bar support.

But for some users with mobility issues, this won’t always be enough for them to feel fully secure and confident in their hoist.

In those cases, we’d recommend a bath hoist with a safety harness — like the optional safety harness that you can add to our AquaMaster Bath Hoist.

With a more thorough support of the upper body, they can feel more secure while they’re being lifted in their hoist (and make the process easier for the carer, too).

An optional safety harness may not be a huge addition to your bath hoist, but it will still add to the overall cost. So, if you’re working with someone who needs a lot of support, you’ll need to factor this into your budget before you buy.

Do you need extra floor support?

Our bath hoists come with wooden or concrete floor fixings as standard.

But that won’t always be enough for some types of floors.

Depending on the structure of the room you’re installing in, you may need some extra support to get a stable and safe installation.

That’s why our teams spend extra time on the assessment stage — working directly with architects and designers to find the best solution for every unique installation.

So, if you’re looking for a bath hoist in a building with weaker floors (whether that’s in a care home or your own private residence), you can get custom floor plates with your bath hoist installation to give your floor the strength and support it needs.

But these extra steps can come with a higher cost:

We’ll need to assess the strength of your flooring and create custom floor plates to match the structure and compensate for any weakness.

So, before you settle on a budget for your bath hoist chair, you need to think beyond the equipment itself — and look at the structure of the room you’re installing into.

Where can I get funding for a bath hoist?

If you’re looking for a bath hoist for your own home, it can feel like a big investment to fund by yourself.

But if you’re someone with a disability or other medical conditions, you might be able to get help through the government’s Disabled Facilities Grants.

The amount of funding depends on your household income and your savings. But with a maximum grant of up to £30,000 in England, a Disabled Facilities Grant should be more than enough to cover the cost of a bath hoist installation.

You can check your eligibility on the government’s website – or apply through your local council to get the funding you need.

Need an expert to help you work through the costs?

If you’re looking for a bath hoist for your own home (or you’re an OT looking for solutions for your clients), our teams are ready and waiting to help.

We’ve been installing accessible equipment for over 20 years, working directly with OTs and prescribers to help them find the perfect equipment for unique situations — and keep costs down along the way!

So, if you’re shopping for equipment and you’re not sure of the costs?

Start a chat with one of the team — and we’ll help you find the right fit for your budget.

Get a free assessment