Hospital Bed Rails Risk Management

Millions of hospital beds with rails are in use in hospitals and health care centers. Most hospital beds are designed to help patients recover, but at times the beds themselves become a cause for the deaths of many patients. According to a news report, between the years 1985 and 2008, there were more than 700 incidents in US hopsitals where patients were either caught, trapped, entangled, or strangled in hospital beds with bed rails.

 

On the one hand, bed rails have a number of advantages like helping the patients to get up, turn or to get out of bed. Bed rails provide a kind of psychological feeling of security so thay they can easily move without the support of a third person. Patients have that feeling that they won't fall down .  Bed rails offeri fast and easy access to bed controls and patient utilities.

However bed rails can also cause accidents like causing injury to the patient when a part of his/her body gets stuck between the rails. Bed rails can also lead to minor injuries such as bruises, cuts, and scrapes. The hospital bed rails will always be a part of hospital bed accessories and hence healthcare provider in cooperation with the patients and their families can reduce the risk of accidents. The following measures are suggested by experts in reducing the risks associated with using bed rails.

 

On the whole hospital bed rails are important part of medical furniture, but they do need to be used with care so as to avoid accidents and mishaps.