THE ROYAL Berkshire Hospital welcomed the delivery of sixteen high-tech beds and mattresses which are set to improve its patient experience.
Becoming the first Trust intensive care unit (ICU) in England to use smart mattress technology when x-raying patients, the new facilities will help staff provide day to day patient care.
The beds can also tilt from side to side, meaning that when staff need to move patients, the bed carries some of the load.
Rachel Crisford, lead ICU nurse, said: “We’ve had incredible feedback from patients telling us they find the beds are extremely comfortable and have commented on how it has helped with their rehabilitation.
“Staff love the tilt on the bed that allows them to move patients more easily – it means the bed takes the strain, not their shoulders and backs.
“I’m also really proud that we were the first intensive care unit in England to use the x-ray sleeve technology in the mattress. It allows us to slide the x-ray plate under the patient rather than having to sit them up and lift them forward for it to be slid in behind them.”
She added that for ICU patients, many of whom are physically fragile or on a ventilator, every movement involves managing their heart rate and breathing. As such, the beds will help in make that as predictable as possible to improve the care delivered.
Staff will also be able to weigh patients in bed now which will be critical in managing nutrition and medication.
The sixteen new beds and mattresses, a £250,000 long-term investment, were part of a project which began in 2020 just before the pandemic.
The mattresses consist of scores of individual air pockets which can be individually inflated and deflated, providing relief to pressure points.
They are now up and running in the ICU and are already seen to be making a significant difference already.
Janet Lippett, acting trust chief executive, said: “This is another great example of the investment we put into ensuring outstanding patient care. Patients are already seeing and telling us about how they are helping them, for example, that they tilt to make it easier for them to stand up.
“The beds will also help our ICU staff directly too, by making it easier for them to care for some of our sickest patients.”
