By Vvon Engineering Team | Published | Updated
Compare beds, transfer aids, hoists, wheelchairs and weighing arrangements through patient-specific handling assessments and equipment compatibility.
Medical equipment RFQ checklist (TXT)
Moving a dependent patient requires a patient-specific handling assessment, suitable equipment and trained staff. Plan bed repositioning, lateral transfers, sitting, lifting and weighing together so staff do not have to improvise a manual lift.
Patient transport, meaning the stretchers and trolleys that move patients between departments, is covered separately. This is about the transfers that happen at the bed: up the bed, bed to trolley, bed to chair, floor to bed, and the weighing that has to happen somewhere in between.
Compare the following equipment against the patients and transfers the ward actually manages. Cost alone does not determine priority.
Compare mobile and ceiling-track hoists for route coverage, structural support, manoeuvring space, storage and maintenance. Both can be suitable in new or existing buildings if correctly designed and supported. A retrofit does not automatically rule out ceiling systems.
Keep maximum patient mass and safe working load distinct, and confirm how the manufacturer defines each for the offered equipment.
For a bed, the safe working load includes more than the patient, such as the mattress and permitted accessories. Use the separately stated maximum patient mass and the manufacturer’s loading instructions; do not infer a patient limit from one catalogue number or an informal subtraction alone.
ISO 10535 covers hoists and body-support units for transferring people. Check the load limits and approved combination of hoist, spreader bar and sling, as well as sling size and attachments. Similar-looking loops or fittings do not establish compatibility.
Buying one wide, high capacity bed and declaring the hospital bariatric capable is the classic mistake. The patient in that bed has to reach it, use a toilet, be imaged, be taken to theatre and be weighed. Walk the entire route before buying anything.
Document the service’s equipment and transfer limits and an escalation/referral plan with the clinical team. Individual patient needs and emergency circumstances still require professional assessment.
Weight drives drug dosing, fluid balance and dialysis prescription, and weighing a patient who cannot stand is a handling task in its own right. There are four ways to do it and each suits a different patient.
| Method | Suits | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Floor scale | Patients who can stand safely for the measurement | Capacity, access, stability, resolution and verification |
| Chair scale | Patients who can sit but not stand steadily | Chair width for larger patients, castor brakes |
| Hoist scale | Fully dependent patients already being hoisted | Sling weight has to be tared consistently |
| Bed or chair with integrated weighing | Critical care and dialysis, where repeated weights matter | Zeroing discipline, and what is on the bed when it is zeroed |
Integrated weighing can reduce some transfers when a suitable patient is treated in a scale chair. Digiterm’s Comfort-3 Scale and Comfort-4 Scale are catalogue options; verify the exact weighing range, accuracy, zeroing method and calibration or legal-metrology requirements. Clinical decisions about fluid removal require the nephrology team, not the chair’s reading alone.
Wheelchairs are bought as a commodity and used as clinical equipment. Three distinctions are worth making in the specification.
Transit and self-propelling wheelchairs serve different users and routes. Compare seating, propulsion, manoeuvrability, folding and storage rather than assuming a small-wheel model stacks or a large-wheel model is usable independently by every patient.
Patients with postural-support needs require an appropriate seating assessment. A reclining chair or added supports may be useful, but the chosen system must provide the required fit, stability and pressure management.
A powered wheelchair requires assessment of the user, controls, route and charging/support arrangements. For an offered model such as the SKE180, confirm the current load, range and permitted slope conditions. A catalogue maximum gradient is not permission to drive on every ramp at that angle.
Compare solid and pneumatic tyres for the route, comfort, rolling resistance and maintenance. Solid tyres avoid punctures, while pneumatic options require pressure checks; neither is universally the right hospital choice.
Train staff on the exact transfer equipment and patient-assessment procedure, with competency refreshers suited to staff turnover and risk. Inspect hoists and slings as instructed, including pre-use and periodic checks. Visible stitching condition alone cannot establish sling safety.
Standards scope reference: ISO 10535:2021 hoists and body-support units.
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