Hospital Bed Safety

Between 1985 and 2008, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received nearly 800 reported incidents involving hospital beds, over half of which resulted in death. Bed rails were the primary contributor to most of those incidents.

Bed Options

• Only beds that can be raised and lowered, and whose wheels lock, should be used. These beds prevent falls which occur as a result of patients climbing over the bed rails.

Mattresses

• Improperly sized mattresses can lead to cases of strangulation and suffocation when a patient or a part of his body gets stuck between the mattress and the rails. Using properly-sized mattresses with raised foam edges is recommended to minimize gaps between the bed and the rails and prevent such occurrences.

Patient Restraint

• Bed rails should not be used as restraints, as doing so can increase agitated behavior in patients and lead to cuts and bruises on the wrists and ankles as they try to free themselves.

Heath Care Workers

• Hospital employees can prevent injuries and deaths due to hospital beds by simply reassessing the need for bed rails, frequently monitoring the patient, and anticipating patient needs beyond the bed.

Prevention/Solution

• Because the use of side rails is an integral component of health care bed design, the FDA has aligned itself with national health care organizations and the hospital bed industry to create the Hospital Bed Safety Workgroup, which seeks ways to enhance overall bed and side rail safety.