Hospital furniture is a collective term used for the different types of portable or stationery objects used in a hospital, medical or health care bodies. Commonly used medical furniture in hospitals includes ward furniture, bedside tables, baby furniture, hospital trolley, hospital stand, operation table accessories, hospital table, hospital chair, hospital cart, hospital cabinet, hospital bed and various other types of health care furniture. All of these products have a multitude of uses and functions. Hospital furniture can be made using a wide variety of raw materials such as steel, iron, plastic, brass and other types of material.
Hospital furniture can range from being simple such as stools and chairs made from inexpensive plastics to being high-end such as the next-generation hospital beds. For example, over the last five years or so, the conventional electronically controlled hospital beds have transmuted from being items where patients take rest to being essential in providing patient care. These sophisticated products comprise frames, mattress, sidebars, etc. that are installed with software to help keep a tab on a patient's weight, movement, status, and safety or they might even deliver simple therapeutic care.
Though hospitals and health care facilities have a number of alternatives to choose from, the purchase decision often entails several considerations aside from cost and the material used. Often the quality of furniture to be used by patients is governed by federal agencies, for instance in the USA, the Joint Commission of Accreditation monitors national patient safety objectives, while the US Food and Drug Administration regulates medical devices. |
Hospital beds refer to pieces of adjustable medical furniture used mainly by patients for lying or sleeping. There are different types of hospitals bed such as delivery bed, electric hospital bed, fowler bed, ICU bed or specialized baby furniture beds, etc. Hospital bed accessories such as
hospital bed cover, hospital pillow cover, medical rubber sheeting, bedside screens, hospital mattresses,
bedside lockers, etc. are the additional items used for covering the healthcare furniture. These accessories for medical hospital bed include bed covers, mattresses, pillows, medical rubber sheeting, pillow covers, etc. The global size of hospital bed market is worth US $ 2.2 billions, which is forecasted to witness rapid growth.
Hospital cabinets are a piece of medical furniture that act like storage compartments for keeping medicines, drugs viz.
cefotaxime, insulin, tamoxifen, etc., disposables, surgical equipment viz. nail scissors,
cuticle scissors, etc., hospital clothing and other medical products. Generally, hospital cabinets are made of wood. Other materials that can be used for making this healthcare furniture are steel, aluminum, glass, iron, etc. Cabinets used in hospitals can have one or more doors that are equipped with locks and drawers.
Hospital cart is a type of trolley having two or four wheels. These healthcare furniture carts come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and materials. Stainless steel, wood, iron, aluminum, and glass are some of the materials that are used for making carts. Further, these carts are used for transporting a variety of materials like drugs viz.
cefpodoxime, antineoplastic agents, antihistamines, etc., medicines, hospital disposables, surgical instruments viz.
nasal scissors, retractors, splinter forceps, etc., and other medical products used in hospitals. Their height can also be adjusted to small size of baby furniture used in hospitals.
Different types of stands are used in hospitals such as bowl stands, wash basin stands, IV stands, kick bucket stands, saline stands, etc for performing diverse functions. Stands used as healthcare furniture help to store, pile and keep several products pertinent to hospital use in order. These hospital stands are manufactured using a wide range of materials such as carbon steel, iron, wood, stainless steel, aluminum, etc.
Hospital stool is a type of healthcare furniture that is similar to a chair, in the sense that it has four legs designed for supporting the seat placed above. Stools do not have back and arm rests. They are made of different materials such as high-grade steel, iron, aluminum, wood or even plastic. Further, hospital stools can be portable, sturdy, foldable, stationary or adjustable. Stools come in various sizes for adults and as baby furniture.
Hospital table refers to an article of hospital furniture that is composed of flat or plane surface on the top, which is supported by one or more legs. Tables, the healthcare furniture used in hospitals are of various types like
hydraulic operation table, bedside table, over bed table, operation table, pediatric table,
surgical operation table, etc. Hospital tables are available in large array of heights, shapes or materials and are intended for serving multiple functions.
Hospital trolleys consist of movable, adjustable or transportable healtcare furniture carts that are specifically used for carrying patients and even medical goods used within hospitals. Hospital trolleys can be of many types such as emergency trolleys, surgical trolleys, ward trolleys, hospital dressing trolleys, etc. These trolleys are used to transport a number of medical equipment and supplies such as
oxygen monitor, hospital consumable, medical instrument,
respiration monitor, etc. This hospital furniture is commonly made using stainless steel, aluminum, carbon steel, iron, and plastic.
Transport systems for patients consist of movable, adjustable or transportable objects that are specifically used for carrying patients. Patient transport systems, the healthcare furniture can be of many types such as basket stretchers, carrying cots, foldable stretchers, evacuation mats, patient turners, evacuation chairs, scoop stretchers, evacuation sheets, etc. The main purpose this type of hospital furniture is to enable a patient to be moved safely and comfortably from a one area within the hospital to another. More precisely, these transport systems are healthcare furniture specifically designed for safety of patients during transit.
Ward furniture comprises different types of medical furniture items including movable objects like chairs, tables, cabinets, desks or other healthcare furniture placed in hospital rooms that have been specifically designed for taking care of a particular group of patients. Ward furniture may be used to store essential medical supples such as medicines e.g.
urokinase, patient supples e.g.
cream shampoo, or other medical supples e.g. thermometers, etc. Further, Hospital furniture assembled in the wardroom are mostly made of heavy gauge steel, iron, aluminum, copper, wrought iron, and plastic.