Does a hospital bed at home need access both sides?

[Toorapid]

I'm going to be on a steep learning curve, never cared for a very sick person before.

We're fortunate in that we have a few options of where a bed can go. DH will be completely bed bound, so where's best?

We could move one of the sofas out of the living room and replace it with the bed. This has the advantage of being where I sit in the evening and a comfortable place for DC or any other visitors (when allowed) to keep him company. Also the big TV, but no view. The bed would be against the wall.

We also have an extended dining room. One end has dual aspect windows overlooking the garden. It would be more squashed in there, but could be done with access on both sides. No other furniture would fit though. Currently 19yo DS1 uses that end of the room for his xbox, which is nice because it means he's "around", but it can be shut off so we don't hear the noise. It could be moved to his bedroom, but then we'd never see him - he works FT, so hes not always there.

DS2 has his PC set up in a downstairs study. That would also make a suitable bedroom, more private, more isolated, no view. Bed could have access both sides and there'd be room for a chair. DS2 is wfh currently and has a very small bedroom.

I've never allowed gadgets upstairs, which has been good because DC are never shut away in their rooms. They don't seem to have realised they're now old enough to make that choice themselves or if they do, they prefer to be downstairs. When DH comes home, I imagine there are going to be times when they want to escape from it all. If we put the bed in the living room, they can do that to their usual places. Elsewhere they'd have to go upstairs.

Where would you put the bed? I'm going to get a million different answers aren't I?

he could have a small tv, maybe clipped to the end of the bed, or on a bracket from the wall.
everything can be arranged around him, for his best quality of life.

@alexdgr8

that's not a problem. you can get a heavy duty large rubberised mat to place at the side of the bed from which he would be washed. all these details can be coped wit. where does he want to be.

When he was last compos mentis he wanted a care home really, doesn't want to be a burden etc, but I think I have to at least try for a while. Now he's not well enough to express an opinion. When I spoke to him this afternoon he was telling me what he'll be doing at work tomorrow

I'm disabled and whilst I'm far from bed bound, I don't go out anywhere near as much as I'd like. Having a view of the outside is so important to me and I would choose this over virtually everything else.

My dad had a hospital bed at home for 7 months before he died and I know that being able to see sky, birds and flowers was so good for him. Being able to watch the seasons change, the weather, things growing helped him to still feel connected with the world. My mum rearranged the house somewhat so that she had an easy chair, TV and books etc in the same room. It wasn't the living room, but she made it a temporary one and spent her evenings there. So he had the garden and carers in the day and her company in the evening.

for what you're going through OP I've seen your other threads and you sound amazing.

Speak to an OT to get the best advice.

So sorry you are going through this

When I had to have a hospital bed last year, we put it in the lounge and it was against a wall. Carers etc managed fine

DH was in the sitting room as it is the largest room in the house, he id have a nice view though. Also where children could access him easily and space for me to sit with him.

I just want to add to take care of yourself, it’s never an easy time.

I’ve seen many people rush to get their loved one home or thinking it will be a stop gap, to go on to find that their family member has gone on to live for multiple years (in no way a negative) but if they’d known at the outset that they’d be tied in to the decisions they made initially for that length of time, they may have made other choices.

No it doesn't. It needs to be near (less than 1m) a plug socket.

I have organised lots of discharges with a hospital bed. Just be aware they're wider than a standard single. They also cannot touch the walls as that prevents them rising and falling. It only needs 3 inches between them and wall though.

You will definitely need access both sides for care. Taking the brakes off the bed isn’t always an easy job with the type of beds issued to patients at home as they tend to have 4 stiff castors. But that all has to be balanced against your family life and how fatigued your DH is. Will he will cope with visitors or staying up in the evening with you?
But overall, if he would benefit from company and social interaction the lounge sounds best and worth the downside of having to pull the bed away from the wall.
Hope all goes well, what a huge adjustment for you all.

I had decided on the living room but I sat with DS1 in "his" bit of the dining room earlier and it is a much nicer aspect. I suppose we could swap and he can have his xbox in the living room. I'll have to double check, there may be room for an armchair with the bed. It would also mean he could see me while I work in the garden during the spring, which he might like and French windows so if the weather's nice he could almost be outdoors.

Also the beds are longer than a standard single - and may have to be extended if he is tall. Allow between 230-245 cm when looking at space.

@Updatemate

No it doesn't. It needs to be near (less than 1m) a plug socket.

I have organised lots of discharges with a hospital bed. Just be aware they're wider than a standard single. They also cannot touch the walls as that prevents them rising and falling. It only needs 3 inches between them and wall though.

Oh, I asked the OT for the measurements and she told me standard single bed size. She has been a very difficult person to deal with, I don't feel like we're at all well prepared, but that could be because we're not quite there yet.

Back to the drawing board then, if OT has told me wrong about the size of the thing. That's annoying.

I've seen you're other thread, I'm so sorry you are in this situation.

Outlook is definitely important, but so is space for someone else to be able to sit in the room. Also you won't want him to be too cut off.

The beds can be moved with a patient in them, but wouldn't fit through a standard doorway, so you could likely (if space allows) temporarily move a bed out from the wall slightly to allow a second career access on the other side, but not move DH from room to room for days and nights.

I see you're leaning towards the dining room anyway, my question if you'd gone for the sitting room was going to be does that leave you anywhere to escape to if it's where you tend to spend evenings? You need to look after yourself too.

I'm sure your sons will be able to be flexible.

And defo get the OT person round for a full assessment when the time is right, the gadgets and equipment available are amazing, even if she could come across more helpful.

I’m judging on the basis of the type of beds I issue to patients. I’m in Hampshire so possibly different elsewhere? But I would have though most profiling beds are longer than standard.
I’m sorry that your OT (and embarrassed as a fellow OT) has been difficult to deal with deal with. I would ask for an Access Visit. Then she is responsible for saying whether or not the bed will fit.
So sorry you are going through this.

Living room would be best for patient I think would make it more normal for him.

When we were in this situation we used the living room. Not only was it the largest room, but also had the tv, plenty of space for socialising.. it made the patient continue to feel part of the household rather than shut away. Even though she was asleep most of the time I think she enjoyed being 'in the action'.

www.sidhil.com/solite-pro-bed-solite-pro

Here is a link to a “typical” type bed that would be supplied in the community

I’ve been reading your threads too. I’m very sorry for the situation you all find yourselves in. I’d definitely aim for the dining room. Move the gaming stuff out.

Firstly sending you enormous hugs OP, my mum is carer for my dad - it’s an incredibly difficult situation and sending much love.

My dad is also bed bound (he can move with assistance for washing however)

My mum has his bed against a wall in the living room, she has it positioned so she can easily change his stoma bag.

Mum chose living room over dining room so they could still watch tv together and spend time together. I would say that the tv does disturb dad however and he’s often trying to sleep as exhausted from illness.

Clearly not something to consider right now due to Covid restrictions, but visitors also disturb him and he doesn’t like being seen bed bound.

Would it work to have the bed in dining room, with a small tv and an armchair in there for you so you can spend time together/watch tv of an evening?

I worked in community care for about 5 years (a few years ago now). Ideally, there will be space around the bed - certainly room for a Carer each side. It is also useful to have room for all of his care equipment in the same place (drawers for pads, wipes, clean PJs, towels, bedsheets, creams etc) whatever you will want the Carers to have access to without needing to run & fetch it.

Will you be having a manual hoist? If so there needs to be quite a lot of room on one side of the bed in order to get it in & out.

I personally would think it’s better to have him in the lounge if that means he’ll have more company. A separate room would work but it could be quite lonely for him. Even if he isn’t very alert, he will still enjoy hearing your voices & knowing you are there.

Good luck .

I saw your other thread. When my neighbour brought her DH home and he needed a hospital bed someone (the OT I think) came round to assess the room beforehand. I was with her when they came. He needed oygen and there were a number of safety issues to address.

If it were me a window with a view would be very important but your DH may be different. Never mind what rules you had when they were little, to be honest I would try to ensure the DC could retreat to their rooms, facilitate the gaming in their rooms, a tv, privacy for them and the same for you as well as DH.

If considering the dining room option, you could get privacy film for the window. You just peel it on & it looks mirrored from the outside. It would come off later on if needed too. From the inside you can barely tell the difference.

I agree with others here, the ideal is access both sides. I used to do home care for bed bound patients and it is virtually impossible to do 90% of care without access on both sides, even something as simple as using the slip sheet to move your dh back up the bed if he needs it would be impossible without access down both sides.

You will need to consider the health and safety of the carers attending to him just as much as his best interests.

The pp is correct hospital beds are longer but if someone like mediquip are providing it then you could ask them for the measurements.

From my experience stimulation is important, but of you children are young then I would also consider the impact of having to see/deal with catheter and colostomy bags if he has them or the trauma of inadvertently walking in on him being changed etc. As awful as it sounds consider the smells. Will you be able to move dh in order to change his pads if he has those or to change his catheter bag etc if he is using one instead and the carers aren't due?

I haven't read your other thread and I do understand the desire to try and have him home, but the practicality will be something very different and may not be the best thing for your dh.

Just to add - the hospital beds will move over carpet. A manual hoist (if you are having one) will be much harder so you might want to decide against the dining room.