This invention relates in general to beds and more particularly to healthcare facility beds having four casters or wheels attached to a base frame and that can turn around a horizontal axis for moving the bed from one location to another location and a brake for maintaining the bed in a desired position.
Falls pose a great problem from the medical, social and economic point of view in that falls can cause frequent complications and serious consequences, resulting in protracted patient pain and suffering, which in turn produces an obstacle to further therapy, resulting in extended treatment periods.
Falls in hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare facilities are common, particularly in subsequent care departments and geriatric clinics. Falls are most common as is the highest risk contingency among older people and chronically ill patients. According to the statistics of the National Center for Injury Prevention in the USA (NCIP), the probability of falls significantly rises in people over 65.
In any event, a fall poses a direct risk to a patient's state of health and often causes the patient further pain and suffering. Common consequences of falls are hematomas, open wounds, and fractures. Moreover, falls among older people often result in a collum fracture, including subsequent, sometimes fatal, complications.
This generally has an economic effect on the management of the healthcare facilities. After a fall, the patient is subject to several examinations, is X-rayed, or even has to undergo surgery. Longer hospitalization also requires more work for hospital staff. Moreover, healthcare facilities are often threatened with litigation by patients and their relatives.
The prompt identification of risk patients and risk areas can ensure greater safety for patients and save the healthcare facilities a lot of money. The internal causes are subjected to change by state of health and type of illness. For example, patients recovering from a stroke frequently exposed to a greater risk of a fall. Considerably, at risk are patients with dementia and patients using psycho pharmaceuticals, hypnotics, or anti-depressants. External causes of falls are related to various aids (e.g., crutches and prosthetic devices), and particularly technical conditions of the environment (e.g., bad lighting, bed elevation, slippery floor, thresholds, and an unstable chair). To a great degree, risk of a fall is also attributed to a bed that is free to move.
Healthcare facility beds are typically designed to be moved from one location to another location and, therefore, have wheels that can turn around a horizontal as well as vertical axis which permit the hospital bed to be rolled and steered between locations. During movement of the bed, it is desirable to have free rolling wheels but upon reaching a desired location, a brake is usually applied to the wheels to maintain the bed at the desired position.
Such beds typically have brake and steer caster devices, which include mechanisms (i.e., brake mechanisms) for blocking the rotation of the wheels, and mechanisms (i.e., steering lock mechanisms) for blocking swiveling movement of the caster fork (i.e., for preventing the wheels from turning around a vertical axis). Some beds have four caster devices and pedals located on opposite sides of the bed that control the brake and steering lock mechanisms of each caster.
Some healthcare facility beds are equipped with four separate brake mechanisms and/or steering lock mechanisms and four separate brake pedals and/or steer pedals, each associated with only one of the four caster devices. Each brake pedal only applies the brakes of the caster device with which it is associated. Each steer pedal only operates the steering lock mechanism on the caster device with which it is associated. Prior to moving such beds, the caregiver must release all four brakes by operating all four pedals, and after moving the bed, the caregiver must apply all four brakes by again operating all four pedals.
Some beds are equipped so that the brakes are applied at all four caster devices by operating any one of four pedals associated with the caster devices. Caregivers are able to operate all of the steering lock mechanisms on the caster devices having such mechanisms by operating a steer pedal on any one of the four caster devices.
Some beds are equipped with a common three-position control mechanism that can be operated from several places (e.g., with a system of mechanically interconnected levers positioned at individual caster devices). In a central position of the levers of the three-position control mechanism, all the wheels can freely turn around their horizontal as well as vertical axis. This position is referred to as “unbraked.” The bed can be freely moved in all directions. In the lower position of the levers of the three-position control mechanism, turning of all the wheels both around the horizontal axis and around the vertical axis is blocked. This position is referred to as “braked.” Finally, in the upper position of the levers of the three-position control mechanism, turning of one wheel around the vertical axis is locked in a pre-selected position, generally in a position that is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the bed. The other wheels can freely turn both around their horizontal axis and around their vertical axis. The bed can be moved while the wheel locked in the position parallel to the longitudinal axis of the bed facilitates keeping the straight movement direction for the personnel transporting patients along hospital corridors.
Known beds with five wheels work in a similar manner while their fifth wheel is positioned under the bed and can be locked in a pre-selected position with the above mentioned three-position control mechanism, common for the control of the functions of all the wheels described above.
In some beds, the control mechanism comprises a separate two-position control mechanism that controls the brakes of all braked wheels and a separate control mechanism that controls the steering lock of wheels, the turning of which around the vertical axis can be locked in a pre-selected position.
A common disadvantage of all the known undercarriages for hospital beds is that if the staff member forgets to apply the brakes after stopping and putting the bed aside, the patient may get injured if he/she leans against the bed thinking that the brakes are applied. In such a case the bed starts to move and the patient may fall, which may have severe consequences, especially in the case of older or disoriented patients. Further, during the transfer of a patient from the bed to a wheelchair or stretcher, the patient is at risk of falling in if the brakes are not applied.