New Fire Evacuation Mattress Developed in Partnership with Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Direct Healthcare Services are proud to announce the launch of the new Dyna-Form® Mercury Fire Evacuation which has been developed in partnership with Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
This new evacuation mattress, brought to market in under twelve months from when the original idea was conceived, revolutionises the way bed-bound patients are moved or evacuated in an emergency situation. Direct Healthcare developed the initial concept with fire officer Steve Tremarco, before collaborating with other specialists across the hospital to ensure the mattress met the needs of all stakeholders, including patients, infection control and tissue viability.
In a UK first, the new mattresses have their own built-in straps to assist with evacuation in case of fire, enabling staff to move bed-bound patients quickly and safely. The straps are hidden inside the mattress in normal use, and don’t affect patient comfort. In the rare event of an evacuation, patients who cannot walk can now be evacuated on their own mattress, instead of having to be carried or moved onto a specialist evacuation chair, the usual safe ways of evacuating them. Everything that staff and the fire service need is contained within the mattress – there is no need to go and retrieve specialist equipment from wards or store rooms. The new way of moving patients also provides them with far more comfort and dignity as they become safely cocooned in their own mattress.
Although developed as a hospital mattress, the fire evacuation mattress has benefits which extend beyond the hospital setting, to care homes and those who use hospital beds at home, as well as potentially for the movement of bariatric patients in the future, which can be problematic for the fire and ambulance service. A further design feature of the mattress is that it can be completely dismantled and the different elements washed or replaced, rather than having to replace a whole mattress if needed. This represents a cost saving for hospitals.
Graham Ewart, Managing Director of Direct Healthcare, said: “The launch of the Dyna-Form® Mercury Fire Evacuation mattress is testament to the benefits of NHS trusts choosing to work with British manufacturers who can collaborate with respect to specific requirements and respond quickly with solutions that more precisely meet their needs.”
The Dyna-Form® Mercury Fire Evacuation has now been installed at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s three sites in Basingstoke, Andover and Winchester – approximately 900 beds – and is available to be adopted by other hospitals and care settings in the UK and worldwide. As the patent is shared between Hampshire Hospitals and Direct Healthcare, the foundation trust will receive a small income to reinvest in care and services.
Adapted from original news article on the Hampshire Hospitals NHS website and a news article on the Basingstoke Gazette.
View the Dyna-Form® Fire Evacuation Mattress product video here