Hospital bed to hire or buy?

[tobee]

Does anyone know where to look or what prices to expect?

My dad needs one to come out of hospital as part of his care package and I'm trying to help mum get the best suitable for him.

I'm not sure I'm looking in the right places!

Thanks!

Looking myself quickly via google they are all kinds and all prices

You should be provided with one by the NHS as part of the care package, along with anything else he needs (raised toilet seat etc etc).

The OT on the discharge assessment team should be able to direct you .

There is a company that comes and sorts it via the NHS, also social services.
But as above, the hospital should arrange a team to pop in and assess the house then they loan you what is needed.

Thanks for replies.

My mum spoke to the hospital care team person this morning and there is no bed available for my dad.

She's spoken to someone who can get him a bed delivered in good time; that they'd need to buy but my sister and I are wondering if it's good value, don't want mum to be ripped off.

If you’re anywhere near East London or can get there with a van I have an unused one that I’m trying to get rid of.

Should have added, for free.

Sorry to hear that your dad isn’t well.
I’m an OT. He really shouldn’t be discharged without the OT ordering the equipment for him. These beds are so expensive and routine equipment for hospital discharge. Don’t go buying it yourself.

Op could you hire one from the red cross?? The hospital should organise it surely or it's not safe for home discharge??

If its necessary for discharge and not something that is "preferred" then call your Social Care team who should be able to help.

I thought I was doing the right thing by buying an electric bead for my mother six years ago when she was in hospital. The OT was very disparaging and said that it wasn't any good! No offer to help me source the right one but the one I had was no good because it didn't go low enough to enable her to sit easily.

That doesn’t mean they won’t supply one though. Ask them to find one before he can come home,

Just come back here to read updates but while I was away I've hired one and for 2 weeks and then we'll see what happens and how long he'll need it for.

It's been complicated by the fact I've been at the other end of the country on holiday and my sister very busy working and my mum not being able to hear reliably on the phone and feeling vulnerable.

My sister and I stepped in because mum said some guy at a company had one he could sell her for £1,900 and he was "a lovely man".

Thank you for the kind and helpful responses.

Btw the o.t person at hospital apparently didn't give any further advice re type of bed or trusted companies.

@LambriniBobInIsleworthISeesYa that's a lovely suggestion although mum & dad live quite far from there and we wouldn't have the transport etc.

I shall get back to them @LIZS even though I've set up this hire.

Trying to be clear sighted but not wasting time while keen for dad to be back home asap

It’s so shit that you have to do this op. Being pragmatic, the head thing to do is put your foot down and say he’s entitled to one on nhs and he’s not coming home without it.

But that could delay his discharge for days/ weeks and it’s horrible being in hospital especially when you don’t need to be. So I would have done the same as you to get him out of there.

But what you must do now is hassle whoever you need to hassle to ensure you get an nhs one and swap it over asap when they have it spare. Thats presuming it’s not a case of your dad only needing it for a week or so.

Thank you @aodirjjd

It's not just the bed, he will also need a mattress suitable for his needs, the hospital need to tell you what level, his pressure areas, continence, mobility, height, weight are all important when ordering a mattress.

Sorry can't help on price.

Dad's got an electric bed which my Mum was given by a friend and it was hardly used - then Mum only used it for 2 nights :( We've moved it to our house for Dad who uses it all the time now - really useful when his carers put him to bed early so he can sit up and watch TV and we can lower it later on. Its not got any special pressure mattress though.

Dad's been in hospital with sepsis and we were never offered a bed when he came home as part of the reablement package. They did give us toilet frames for both toilets, two walking frames for upstairs and down, and a shower/sink perch. All really useful and I'd recommend.

My Mum also received a commode for free which we kept and which Dad has used in the past when he's needed it. Luckily that was only temporary.

He also needs a wheelchair for outside trips. We purchased that.

Good luck. Its a brave new world.

As for delaying discharge that didn't happen to Dad. I'd asked them for an assessment of his needs because he had significantly deteriorated from pre sepsis. I though I was waiting for that and for him to have physio to walk and do stairs but went in one day to find all the equipment at the bottom of his bed to bring home and they'd arranged a care package starting 2 days later!

This did, as others say, have the advantage of getting him out of hospital - but im not sure now whether discharge was really thought through properly with missing new medication, unstable stats, incorrect TEP and a new infection. We've been left to pick up the loose ends.

And reading this thread has me wondering if we should also have a special mattress topper as he came out with a red pressure sore risk score! Thanks for flagging.

If your dad needs it for nursing needs the nurses on the ward should be arranging it. If it’s for mobility needs eg. To aid transfers or of bed, then it will fall on the OT to arrange. The problem of hiring one is what are you going to do when the actual one arrives (presuming it’s on order). It can prove tricky with space, poor transfers etc. Who is saying he needs a hospital bed and have they explained why?

You need a OH assessment of his home, to see what else he might need - loo seat, grab rails, walker, hoist etc etc etc. Which is provided by the NHS.

He shouldn't be coming home without that done, it's not a safe discharge.

If that's been done and they're saying they won't provide the equipment he needs, but are discharging him anyway, then that's a whole other conversation. Is that what's happened?

Or have they said he's ready for discharge, but they can't organise the bed right now, and won't discharge without it, so you've sourced one to get him home ASAP?

Or some other scenario?

Just echoing what others have said. The NHS (via the hospital discharge team) should provide a bed , plus whatever else he needs. It’s unsafe to discharge him otherwise. They are usually pretty quick to do this, because they are very keen to discharge patients as soon as they possibly can, as someone else needs that bed. Your family might be in a position to buy one yourselves, but millions aren’t and it isn’t expected that you will.

I know you mean well @tobee but you need the right bed and mattress for each individual’s needs. These can also change over time so may need to be changed.

It will all need servicing too.

Please go back to the hospital team and ascertain whether the bed is needed for health needs or socials needs. This will decide who organises and funds it (health or social services).

Thanks for the further replies.

As I've been away it's all been a bit Chinese whispers with me being the end of the chain.

I'm intending to go and visit dad tomorrow and hope to speak to someone in the discharge team or arrange for a callback.

When I rang the hire company they asked about the type of mattress that would be required, height, weight etc.

Medequip have profile beds and the mattresses on their website.