A hospital bedroom is a place where patients can eat, rest, and recover, but it’s a room that must be highly organised for bariatric patients for their safety and for the safety of nurses and caregivers.
Whilst this has always been essential for hospital rooms with beds, it’s become even more pressing in recent years due to an ageing population and obesity, both of which pose unique challenges for caregivers and require careful attention to hospital room setups. For example, HSE reported that six in ten people in Ireland are either overweight (37%) or obese (23%). Obesity alone can make navigating a hospital bedroom challenging and dangerous. Likewise, ageing can lead to trips and falls as well as risks such as elopement or wandering for patients with dementia.
It is therefore essential that hospitals and health care facilities in Ireland manage the space around bariatric beds and optimise the available space within their patient units, prioritising accessibility and safety whilst maintaining efficient operations.
Key Considerations for a Bariatric Hospital Bedroom Setup
In health care facilities, patient and caretaker safety are paramount, while accessibility and efficiency are likewise essential considerations.
Many of these depend on the placement of furniture and equipment, particularly bariatric hospital beds which take up a lot of space. Essential medical equipment should be within ergonomic reach whilst patients and caretakers should be able to navigate by foot, assist patients in wheelchairs, and roll out hospital beds with ease at a moment’s notice.
Essential Items for a Hospital Room with a Bariatric Bed
Given the size of a typical bariatric bed, there are often space constraints within hospital rooms which requires careful planning of essential equipment and items. A quality bariatric hospital bed with adjustable features is a given.
Additional items should be sparse and only those necessary for quality care should be considered, such as lifting hoists and transfer equipment, commodes for showers, raised toilet seats, and medical equipment. Recliners, specialised chairs and other bariatric products for home care are often more suitable for care homes and home use.
How to Optimise the Layout of a Bariatric Patient Room
A hospital bedroom with bariatric equipment should be laid out to promote maximum safety and efficiency for the patient and any caregivers. Since the bed is usually quite large and both horizontal sides should be within easy access for caregivers, it’s usually best positioned near the centre of the room. This also allows caregivers to navigate around the room unobstructed with adequate clearance.
Make sure the bed can be rolled out quickly and with minimal disruption. Access to hoists, wheelchairs, and/or mobility aids should likewise be safe and easy. More detailed layout information can be found in the guidelines for bariatric inpatient units.
Best Practices for Ergonomic and Functional Design
Access to the room should be safe and with maximum possible clearance. There should be a zone set apart for medical equipment such as monitoring equipment and cabinets for medical equipment. These should be placed at a comfortable, ergonomic height within easy reach of caregivers.
Similar to dealing with bedridden elderly family members, caregivers should also have ergonomic access to the patient’s bedside and necessary equipment and medicine.
Bariatric Hospital Beds & Equipment from O’Flynn Medical
Hospital room setups should prioritise accessibility, safety, and comfort for patients whilst facilitating efficient everyday operations for caretakers and nurses. Medical professionals should have ergonomic access to their equipment, the patient, and their bariatric bed.
Health care facilities in Ireland can ensure smooth efficiency, safety, and accessibility with hospital bedroom items and equipment from O’Flynn Medical. Established in 2000, we’re proud to be a leading supplier of premier medical equipment in Ireland including bariatric hospital bed rentals and sales. Discover our wide range of products and contact O’Flynn Medical today.
Frequently Asked Questions
What essential items should be in a hospital room for bariatric patients?
Bariatric patient rooms in hospitals and care facilities should contain as many items as necessary to ensure quality care can be provided but not too much so as to cause obstructions for the patient or care staff.
Examples of items in a hospital room that are typically essential for bariatric patients include: medical equipment such as bariatric beds with adequate mattresses, ceiling lifts or mobile hoists, and vital signs monitoring equipment; furniture and mobility aids such as bariatric chairs, bariatric commodes and shower stools, toilet risers, wheelchairs, walking frames or other standing aids, and security railing and handlebars.
How do you plan the best room setup around a hospital bed?
The best room setup around a hospital bed is one that maximises the available floor space to provide all essential furniture and equipment for patient care whilst not obstructing the path for caretakers and the patient.
Generally, a room containing a bariatric hospital bed should be delineated between a staff zone near the entranceway, the patient zone in the centre with both horizontal sides of the bed within easy access of caretakers, and optionally a visitor zone in a non-critical area. Hospital staff should have easy ergonomic access to essential medical equipment and to the patient’s bariatric bed.
What factors should be considered when designing a hospital room layout?
Some of the key factors that should be considered when designing a hospital room layout include clear and unobstructed passageways between the entrance and the patient’s bariatric bed and any critical medical equipment, patient privacy (curtains) and visibility (out a window), access to nurse call stations and ergonomic access to medical equipment within the room, accessibility for wheelchair use, and planning for current and future technological integrations within the room.
Furniture arrangements should be made to prioritise safety for caretakers first and foremost. Generally, this means placing the bariatric bed near the centre of the room and leaving the space near the entrance for essential medical equipment.
Bariatric OR Prep Checklist
Section 1: Space & Access
[ ] Door Width: Is the doorway wide enough to allow a bariatric bed and wheelchair to fit through without bumping?
[ ] Clear Pathways: Are there any obstructions between the entrance and bed, bathroom or window?
[ ] Floor Safety: Do the floors have trip hazards such as rugs or loose cables?
The Bed & Patient Zone Section 2
[ ] Bariatric Bed: Is there a certified bariatric bed with the correct Safe Working Load (SWL) installed?
[ ] Pressure Care Mattress: Is the mattress meeting the patient’s needs, i.e., does it correspond to actual pressure care clinical needs and weight?
[ ] Bed Access: As a rule, a bed (minimum 90-100 cm) should have clear space on both sides.
[ ] Nurse Call Button: Is it easy for the patient to reach the nurse call button?
[ ] Cushion: Has the patient been provided with a specialty cushion for use during seated tasks?
Section 3: Equipment for Patient Handling
[ ] Hoist: Is the ceiling and/or mobile bariatric hoist in an available and ready state?
[ ] Slings: Are the correct size and SWL slings easily obtainable?
[ ] Wheelchair: There is a bariatric wheelchair available in or near the room?
[ ] Walking Frame/Stand Aid: Is a walking frame or stand-aid available if the need arises?
Section 4: Hygiene & Bathroom
[ ] Grab Rails: Are there grab rails securely installed throughout the bathroom?
[ ] Adult Shower/Commode Chair: This chair is used to help a person with their daily bath activities.
[ ] Raised Toilet Seat: Is there a raised toilet seat in place and is it appropriately height resistant?
[ ] Non-Slip Surfaces: Is there a non-slip mat installed in the shower or wet areas?
Part 5: Employee Zone & Safety
[ ] Ergonomics: Is there monitoring gear, including medical storage, available within reach during doll work?
[ ] Staff Training: Can use and familiarity of the bariatric bed and hoist be extended to all staff?
[ ] Emergency Plan: Is there a set procedure in place for evacuating a bariatric patient during an emergency?