Care Home Essentials: Things To Consider When Purchasing An Electric Profile Bed
If you are a caregiver, you may be interested in purchasing an electric profile bed to assist your patients. These beds can be a terrific aid as they are equipped with a mattress platform that consists of multiple sections. The bed can be adjusted to cater to different sleeping and resting positions to help make your patients feel more comfortable.
There are many options out there for electric profiling beds, and it can be a little overwhelming. Before you purchase one for your care home, there are a few things you should consider. This article is here to help.
Who Will Be Using The Bed?
There are around 17,600 care homes in the UK alone. Each home is filled with patients who all have different needs. Therefore, when choosing your profiling bed, you should always consider the patients who will be using it.
Some beds will offer multiple different features so you can cater to more than one patient’s needs, whilst others won’t. So, it is also best to shop around. For example, some patients may need postural support. In these instances, an adjustable backrest would be a necessary feature. You can purchase a bed that offers multiple features. However, you should note that this will influence the final price.
Ease Of Use
Technology can often be complex. However, when it comes to choosing a profiling bed, you want to try and keep the tech as simple as possible. Ease of use is certainly something you should take into consideration when choosing your bed. Not only do you want your patients to be comfortable, but you also want to make life easier for the caregiver.
Most beds come with handsets that help you control the bed. It is worth taking a look at the handset before making your purchase. If it looks too complicated, this could mean both caregivers and patients will struggle to use it.
Accessibility
The patient using the electric profile bed is likely to be elderly or have a disability. Therefore, when choosing your electric bed, you want to consider accessibility. Not only does the patient need to access the bed, but the caregiver also needs to be able to assist them.
Take a look at this article about electric profile beds from the NHC Group. They discuss some of the essential features that a profiling bed needs to help you cater for a range of different patient needs. Height adjustment is one specific feature that can certainly make accessibility a lot easier, allowing caregivers to get patients in and out of bed safely.
Safety Features
The role of a caregiver can be challenging. Ultimately, you want to do the best job you can and help keep your patients as safe as possible. This is why safety should be a priority when choosing your profiling beds. You can learn more aboutkeeping care home residents safe by reading some online resources.
Some features that can enhance the safety of a profiling bed are side rails and knee breaks. Side rails prevent the patient from falling out of the bed and can often be made from materials like foam to help minimise the risk of injury. Knee breaks can also prevent patients from slipping down the bed, holding them upright in a more natural position.
Your Budget
It has been reported that many care homes around the UK are facing a funding crisis, which makes purchasing resources a lot more challenging. This is why your budget is something you need to take into consideration when purchasing profiling beds. Luckily, there are a variety of profiling beds out there to suit different price ranges.
Prices will differ depending on the type of bed you want, the features and the size. Some companies will also offer better deals than others, so it is advised that you shop around. Take time to understand the needs of your patients. Write down the features they will require from their beds to help them feel comfortable and safe. This will help you avoid paying for features that you do not need.
The Appearance Of The Bed
Although you want your beds to come equipped with the correct safety features, you also want your patients to feel comfortable. You don’t want your beds to look like they belong in a hospital ward. After all, the care home is your patient’s place of residence. So, you want them to feel right at home.
This is why you should also take the appearance of the bed into consideration. Some beds will give you different upholstery options, and you can tailor it to suit the style of your residence. It can certainly help create a cosy bedroom feel rather than replicate a hospital ward which can be unsettling for patients. If your patients struggle to feel at home in your residence, look at some top tips online to find out what you can do to help.
