Pressure Care
Sometimes as designers we get asked to provide pressure care foam, a good example is in seating. This generally gets passed down into the supply chain for the provision of ‘pressure relieving foam’, but what are you actually specifying? And, how much more complicated does pressure care become when discussing mattress choices?
Pressure relieving seating is a broad term encompassing many different products and materials so whether you or your client brings this up it’s best to have an overview of what’s available. There are many sites devoted to this topic but most appear to be sales driven rather than information led. The Health & Care Ltd site provides some basic information.
In general there are two types of pressure relieving seating: dynamic and static, and their names tell the story pretty well.
Dynamic cushions generally use air pumps and are used for residents with limited mobility who sit for long periods of time and are therefore at high risk of pressure ulcers which can become infected. These cushions change position on a regular basis for pressure ulcer prevention and are not specified by the project design team. However, it is worth remembering that this option likely requires an electrical supply. In other words, you will want to assure plenty of sockets in lounge seating areas or near a resident bedroom chair. They also tend to sit on top of the normal seat cushion, thereby affecting the seat to arm height differential. It is worth discussing the type of product your client is likely to use in this situation and even perhaps adjusting the dimensions of at least a few chairs to accommodate this need.
Static cushions can also be used for high risk individuals sat on top of a normal cushion. These tend to be contoured foam but often have a gel section at the rear of the cushion to protect the sacral area. If you’ve ever been on a long haul flight, you’ll understand why. When you ask your FF & E upholstered seating supplier for a pressure relieving seat you’ll likely get a high density foam base with a layer of memory foam over the top. It is worth asking specifically and obtaining a sample chair for client sign-off.
For profiling beds, while the frame choice and the ‘do you or don’t you upholster the headboard’ question usually falls to the interiors team, mattress choice remains a highly specialised area requiring input from OT, Care Managers, and most certainly suppliers with expertise in this specific area.
One company we’ve relied on in the past is OSKA who manufacturer medical equipment specifically for the prevention of pressure ulcers and resulting infections.
While waiting for a scan recently I started speaking with an elderly gentleman who had been brought to the hospital by his highly-regarded care home. Despite his glowing praise for the place his feet told a very different story. They were covered with open sores from lying in the same position for long periods of time.
The solution to his condition is likely to be a bed mattress. The OSKA Series5 model tilts slightly side to side on a timer, reducing the practice of staff coming in to move a resident every two hours to prevent pressure ulcers. This is particularly important for palliative and cancer care where there is evidence of lymphedemic swelling. Mattresses can also be labelled with the OSKA Selector colour-coded badge so, as the residents change, the correct clinical mattress type can easily be pulled from the store. These might include mattresses for deep sores (ulcer rating 3-4), superficial ones (ulcer rating 1-2) or simply to prevent the issue from occurring to begin with. Air mattresses (or air-flow mattresses) are also used in many care facilities, but these normally require noisy pumps and deflate if damaged.
An architect or designer will never specify the mattress type for a resident, but you need to be aware of what is happening within the sector so you can have a conversation about your client requirements. This may impact your profiling bed frame requirements, electrical supply positions, and the mattress storage options you design into a project. You can always still argue about whether or not to upholster the headboard…if you want to.