New Turn Assist beds could reduce injury risk

Aged care provider Peninsula Villages has welcomed the introduction of three new Burling Turn Assist beds which aim to help care workers with the physicality of assisting residents with high-care needs.

The repositioning of aged care residents has been common practice for aged care and healthcare providers around the world for decades. Repositioning to avoid pressure injuries is typically a manual process but turn assist beds can decrease discomfort and reduce the risk of injury among residents. The beds can also lessen the impact on residents’ sleeping patterns and enable staff to have more time to attend to residents’ other needs.

The Burling Turn Assist bed is a lateral rotational bed that is easily controlled by the press of a button. The new bed technology has been designed to meet the needs of an immobilised person with, or at risk of developing, pressure injuries and other complications of immobility.

After recently acquiring a Provizio SEM Scanner that assists with preventing pressure injuries, the aged care provider is now pleased to supplement this prevention program with new bed technology.

“Earlier this year we were fortunate to integrate Provizio’s non-invasive technology to our care team that assists with prevention of pressure injuries. The purchase of these new beds takes this prevention initiative even further,” explained Peninsula Villages’ Executive Care Manager, Steve Wills.

The current physicality of turning care recipients within their bed results in increased risk of pressure injuries and skin tears for residents and manual handling burden for staff.

“The process of turning residents within their bed is currently a two- or three-person task. Increasingly, this has become a pressure point as our workforce demands grow. Additionally, invasive and disruptive pressure area care provided in bed overnight for residents tends to lead to poor sleep quality,” Wills said.

“We had a great need for a technology that could assist staff in the turning of some of our residents who sometimes need up to three members of staff to perform the manoeuvre.

“Our three new Burling Turn Assist beds are a first for the area and for Pozieres House and have already proven to provide the additional function of effective 30-degree tilt for the prevention of pressure injuries,” he added.

Peninsula Villages expressed pride at being an early adopter of this new Australian technology.

“With benefits to both our care team and the resident, this new technology is groundbreaking for our organisation and to the wellbeing of all those involved,” Wills concluded.

Image caption: Burling Turn Assist bed. Image: Supplied.