Hospital and Home Nursing Equipment
Hospital beds and equipment to make caring for someone at home safer and easier.
About hospital and home nursing equipment
Hospital and home nursing equipment makes it safer and easier to look after someone at home, and more comfortable for the person being looked after.
We supply hospital beds, mattresses and over-bed tables, ripple mattresses and cushions that help prevent pressure sores, commodes, bath and shower aids, toilet frames and patient hoists.
This page is sorted by what you need: hospital beds, preventing pressure sores, the bathroom and toilet, and lifting someone.
These are examples of what we supply, not our full range. If you don’t see what you need, phone us on 011 782 7809 and we will help you find the right one. Read what happens at your first visit.
What do you need?
Choose one to see what we have for it.
Hospital beds, mattresses and tables
For someone being looked after in bed at home, and the people caring for them. Our beds are for sale, not for hire.
Hospital beds
Suits: someone being cared for in bed at home
- Manual hospital bed
- The backrest is raised and lowered with a crank handle, and the side rails fold down out of the way. It takes up to 180 kg.
- Electric hospital bed
- A hand control raises the backrest and the knee rest, and lifts or lowers the whole bed: down low, to make getting in and out safer, and up high, to save the carer’s back. The side rails fold down, the wheels lock, and it takes up to 250 kg.
Hospital bed mattress
Suits: a hospital bed at home
A foam mattress 12.5 cm thick, made to fit a hospital bed. Layers of memory foam over a firm core give comfort and support, and the waterproof cover wipes clean. For someone at risk of pressure sores, see the ripple mattresses under Preventing pressure sores.
Over-bed tables
Suits: meals, reading and keeping things within reach in bed or in a chair
- Over-bed table
- A table on wheels whose base slides under the bed or chair, so the top reaches over the person’s lap. A spring lets you raise or lower it, and the top can tilt for reading.
- Over-bed table with a split top
- Two tops side by side: one tilts for a book or a tablet while the other stays flat for a cup or a plate.
Reacher
Suits: anyone who finds it hard to bend down or stretch up
A light aluminium grabber about 80 cm long, for picking things up off the floor or down from a shelf.
Preventing pressure sores
Pressure sores form where skin is pressed against a seat or a bed for hours, most often at the bottom, the heels and the hips. The right cushion, pad or mattress spreads the weight so no single spot carries too much.
Ripple mattresses
Suits: people who spend most of the day and night in bed
A ripple mattress lies on top of the bed’s own mattress. A small pump fills its air cells and empties them in turn, so the pressure keeps moving round the body and no part of the skin is pressed for too long. Which one suits depends on how far a pressure sore has gone: at stage 1 the skin is red and stays red when pressed; at stage 2 it has broken into a shallow sore.
- Bubble mattress with a pump
- For stage 1: a mattress of air bubbles that fill and empty in turn. It takes up to 135 kg.
- Air cell mattress with a pump
- For stage 1 and stage 2: deeper air cells that lie across the bed, and a little air that flows out through tiny holes to keep the skin cool and dry. It takes up to 145 kg.
Invacare® Flo-tech Lite Visco cushion
Suits: people who sit for long hours in a chair or wheelchair, up to 100 kg
A low seat cushion of memory foam that softens with body warmth and settles to the person’s shape. Being thin, it makes it easier to slide sideways in and out of a wheelchair.
The cover keeps water out but lets moisture escape, has a non-slip base and a carry handle, and washes hot. It comes in many sizes to fit the chair.
Invacare® Flo-tech Contour Visco cushion
Suits: people who need more help with sitting upright and spreading their weight, up to 125 kg
A deeper memory foam cushion with a shaped top that cups the hips and thighs. It spreads the person’s weight over a larger area than a flat cushion and helps them sit straighter. The cover is the same as on the Lite Visco.
Invacare® ProPad leg trough
Suits: people in bed with a swollen, injured or at-risk lower leg
A foam trough that cradles the lower leg along its length, with two straps to keep it in place. It holds the leg steady and lifts the heel and ankle off the bed.
Bathroom and toilet
Wet floors and low seats make the bathroom a hard room to manage. These make washing and using the toilet steadier, for the person and for whoever is helping.
Commodes
Suits: someone who cannot get to the toilet easily, at home or away from it
- Folding commode
- Folds flat into its own carry bag, so it goes along on holidays and visits. The legs adjust in height, the seat and lid lift up, and the bucket comes out for cleaning.
- Shower commode on wheels
- A chair with large back wheels that can be wheeled over the toilet or into the shower. The person can push it themselves. It takes up to 115 kg.
Shower chairs, toilet frames and other bathroom aids
Suits: someone who tires standing, or needs something to hold when sitting down and getting up
- Shower chairs and stools
- Somewhere safe to sit while washing.
- Toilet frame
- A frame that stands around the toilet with an armrest on each side to push up from. The legs adjust in height and have rubber feet.
- Bath boards and grab rails
- A board across the bath to sit on, and rails fixed to the wall to hold.
Invacare® Rio bath lift
Suits: someone who can sit, but can no longer get down into the bath or up again safely
A seat that sits in the bath and lowers the person into the water on a quiet battery drive, then lifts them back up. It goes as low as 6 cm above the bottom of the bath and up to 44 cm, level with the edge, with flaps that reach out over the sides to sit on first.
The aluminium frame comes apart into four pieces without tools, so it can be taken out between baths. Suction cups hold it in place and let go on their own when it is lifted out. It takes up to 120 kg, and washable seat covers are available.
Lifting and moving
For a carer moving someone who cannot stand or take their own weight, without straining the carer’s back. For getting into the bath, see the bath lift under Bathroom and toilet.
Patient hoist
Suits: carers moving someone from bed to chair, or chair to toilet
A hand-pumped hoist on a wheeled frame. The person sits in a sling hung from the arm, and a few strokes of the pump handle lift them clear of the bed. The legs of the base open wide to fit around a chair or a bed, then the hoist rolls to where the person needs to be and lowers them gently.
The sling is chosen separately, to suit the person’s size and how much support they need. Ask us which one to use.
