Ultra-low profiling bed launches to assist in further reducing falls in care settings

Drive DeVilbiss Healthcare has launched the Solite Pro Ultra Low profiling bed to assist in further reducing falls in home care, nursing, and residential care settings.

The Solite Pro Ultra Low claims to offer clinically advanced features while providing a comfortable and safe sleeping environment.

It is a four-section electrical profiling bed, and it is Drive DeVilbiss Healthcare’s lowest minimum platform height at 7.5cm. This enables the bed platform to be lowered closer to the floor and reduces the risk of a fall from height for vulnerable occupants.

It also has an ultra-low minimum height. The innovative, patented Dual Actuator System (DAS) allows the mattress platform to rise to 80.3cm to ensure that a carer’s posture is closer to neutral for the moving and handling of bed occupants.

Kerry High, Director of International Category Management at Drive DeVilbiss Healthcare, said: “We have developed the Solite Pro Ultra Low in response to increased market requirements for specialist ultra-low beds. The Product Design Team has designed a patented DAS resulting in a bed platform able to meet both occupant and carer requirements. We are thrilled to add this bed to our community and long-term care product portfolio.”

Featuring an auto-regressing backrest, the Ultra Low bed is designed to maximise occupant comfort. The backrest section of the profiling bed raises and regresses away from the pivot point based around the sacrum; the resulting increase in space in the sacral area promotes comfort and minimises shear and friction forces while supporting the reduction in torso compression.

Falls and fall-related injuries are most common in the older population, with people aged 65 and older at the highest risk.

A report by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in 2013 stated that the cost of falls to the NHS amounts to more than £2.3 billion every year, meaning the NHS spends more than £6 million each day as a result of falls.

Designed with occupant safety and comfort in mind, this latest bed range is supported with a variety of optional accessories. These include mesh safety side rails and a dedicated static mattress, a raised height transport stand for easy storage and transportation, a bed extension of 16.5cm for taller occupants, a 15cm-deep crash mat, and other accessories to compliment the bed.

The Solite Pro Ultra Low bed has undergone external independent testing to meet the requirements for medical electrical equipment and is compliant with EN 60601-1, EN 60601-1-11, and EN 60601-2-52.

Drive DeVilbiss Healthcare recently launched the UltraFold, a premium four-wheel mobility scooter fusing contemporary design, safety, comfort, and high performance.