Everybody loves a good night’s sleep. Your bed is there to give you a comfortable and restful night’s sleep by offering you the support that you need.
When you think about it, your bed is an important piece of equipment from birth right through to end of life. So, when it comes to end of life care, care homes should invest in beds that will give their residents the right support and comfort to provide the very best quality of life.
Nursing beds, also known as, nursing care beds or care beds, are beds that can be adapted for individual residents to cater for particular illnesses or disabilities and are used in private home care as well as in retirement homes, nursing homes, hospices, long term care facilities, assisted living facilities and rehab facilities.
Considering that the care home sector houses around 410,000 residents (GOV.uk, n.d), and each resident needs a bed that provides them the best level of comfort and care, it is key to know what to look for in a nursing bed and the importance for the resident as well as the benefits for the staff.
Size
Nursing beds are available in standard sizes as well as bariatric sizes so they can cater for bariatric residents. Having a variety of bed sizes allows you to find a bed to suit your residents as well as your facility.
Side rails
Many nursing beds can be customised to suit the resident and the care facility. Different types and styles of rails can be purchased to add to the bed. For example, patented SafeFree® side rails can be adjusted to 4 different heights with no dangerous middle gap and allows staff access to the resident in 4 seconds at the most without the need to take off and store interfering accessories like the middle post or fixed side guards.
Homely
Design the nursing beds to suit the care environment whilst maintaining a homely feel. Decide on a head and foot board, choose from a range of wood options or have them upholstered to compliment other furnishings within the room. Not only will this add to the aesthetics of the room it will make the resident feel more at home and make moving into a care home more welcoming and a little less daunting.
Height adjustment
A feature, incorporated on many nursing beds is the bed height option. This is a key feature in long term and assisted living accommodation. Height adjustment gives you the option to move the bed for different purposes. You can move to a low position for when the resident is asleep. A medium height can offer the resident the support for easy mobilisation in and out of the bed. Lastly, when the bed is at its highest height it can make nursing care easier for the staff.
Profiling mattress platform
A profiling mattress platform means the base in which the mattress sits on can profile. A profiling mattress allows the resident to sit up in bed or to raise their knees/legs. This can benefit the resident by improving their positioning and providing additional support for the care provider making nursing easier. Having the option to adjust the profiling of the bed can make it much easier for patients to be moved, which can aid in the prevention of pressure ulcers by increasing movement and reducing the amount of pressure placed on one area of their body. Where possible, its good for residents to keep their sense of freedom and independence, allowing them to take part in conversations and interact is important. The profiling positions allow residents to be lifted into a better position to engage with others.
Trendelenburg/tilt
The Trendelenburg position means the resident is laid on their back and tilted on a 15-30 degree incline with the feet elevated above the head. The opposite position to Trendelenburg is Anti-Trendelenburg, this places the resident on an incline but with the head elevated above the feet. When combined with the mattress profiling platform in its fully profiled position, the anti-Trendelenburg enables the resident to sit in an almost seated position and therefore, allows them to comfortably perform tasks such as eating, reading or watching television.
Matching your bed to a pressure care mattress.
If you need a new mattress to go on your residents’ new bed, use a supplier who specialises in the care sector that can offer you both. This way you can be sure that the mattress is suitable for the resident and the bed. The supplier can guide you on a mattress and bed that will be best suited for your resident and help you with the prevention or treatment of pressure ulcers.
In conclusion, for care facilities to offer the highest levels of care, they need the best equipment.
A nursing bed is one of the main sources of support and comfort for your residents so it is extremely important to get it right. When choosing a bed, check all the main features are included, this will not only have a huge benefit on your residents but on your nursing staff also.
For more information on the above and to speak to one of our pressure care experts call us on 02394 318318 or send them an email.
References:
GOV.UK. (n.d.). Care homes market study: summary of final report. [online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/care-homes-market-study-summary-of-final-report/care-homes-market-study-summary-of-final-report#fn:3 [Accessed 14 May 2019].
