Patient beds are quint essentials components of a hospital. Day in and out many patients are admitted and discharged from the hospital each using hospital facilities including beds.
With so much usability, timely maintenance is required for the long life and functioning of hospital beds.
There are various types of hospital beds such as a manual crank bed, electric bed, plain hospital bed, and more. You require a comprehensive checklist to do immaculate maintenance and servicing of these beds.
Let us start by understanding the components of this checklist:
Visual hardware inspection
Here a technician, observes the bed to detect any damages or necessary repair. The base, structure, bed ends, and side railings are all inspected. The bed’s mobility and safety are ensured by inspecting the castors and brakes for apparent signs of wear. Hospitals can determine whether replacements are needed or not. It is a great cost consideration.
Electrical parts inspection
Lifting, tilting, and other such mechanisms are checked in this inspection. Any problems in the motors or control box are identified to be fixed in this check. Beds equipped with alarms are also checked during this inspection for smooth communication between the patient and the nurse.
Moving on, here is a rundown of maintenance tips for a plain hospital bed and an electric ICU bed.
- Use a soft, damp cloth to hand-wash bed surfaces. Do not use harsh cleaning agents instead use mild cleansers or soaps. Wipe and dry the bed, being sure to remove any excess detergent. Lastly, review and understand local mattress washing regulations.
- Mattress surfaces underneath the covers may get soiled by infectious bodily fluids. In such a case, special treatment is required to clean or may have to be replaced.
- Do some greasing in actuators, pins, tubes, and more.
- Check the castors, rails, and shafts and tighten screws wherever required.
- Check high-low mechanism is working properly or requires fixes.
Maintenance tips for electric ICU beds:
- Check control switched for high low mechanism.
- Ensure efficient working of pendant control.
- Ensure cords, cables and connections are secure.
- Check impedance and leakage.
On a final note, a superior quality bed, be it a plain ward bed or ICU made with high-quality material when maintained with care serves patients at its best.