Upgrading the equipment of a hospital or rest home could make staff and patients’ lives easier, or make a normal task more of a chore. We have recently won the tender to replace the Canterbury District Health Board’s mattresses. This includes training on the Softform Premier Active 2 mattress and pump for 12 hospitals, all of which are different sizes and have different patient demographics. 

My degree in physiotherapy enabled me to speak their language and provide relatable demonstratable examples of the benefits of the Active 2 mattress specific to their everyday role. The training of staff allowed them to understand and buy into products and allowed me to evolve and adapt the trainings to constantly improve the information supplied to staff. It also made me better equipped to answer questions they may have had i.e.:

-       How the two layers of foam, one with castellations and alternating air therapy decreased patients’ risk of pressure injury, a horrible mostly preventable situation which can greatly reduce a person’s quality of life and take months to heal.

-       How the pump use changed their CPR protocol without changing the patient's care level

-       And how all the elements of this mattress create a soft and comfortable mattress which is still firm enough for transfers and bed mobility which is so important for a patient’s health and independence.

We were able to complete the training and delivery of all mattresses while causing as little disruption as possible to the patients and staff. It was a pleasure to be a part of something that will make all of the multidisciplinary teams’ days easier and improve the comfort and experience of their patients. I think it is very easy to say that these mattresses will benefit each staff members and patients experience in the hospitals. We believe we have created a new industry standard of what working partnerships should look like for major product installations. Invacare aims to continue this best practice going forward, focusing on a holistic approach to delivery rather than transactional.

About Charlotte:

Charlotte graduated with a Bachelors of Physiotherapy in 2016 from The University of Otago. Since graduating she has been working as a physiotherapist mostly in private practice, but she has also worked with rest homes around Canterbury.  Charlotte is enjoying using her physio knowledge and experience to help people choose the right equipment for their staff and patients.