Better hospital mattresses could enhance care
04/10/2011
Hospitals that invest in better mattresses could find they can improve the level of care on offer to patients, a report from the University of Toronto has found.
Bed sores are a common problem in hospitals all over the world, which the experts believe could be reduced through the purchase of pressure-reducing mattresses.
Researchers estimated that the cost of an upgrade would be minimal compared to the savings it could made on the treatment of pressure sores.
Lead researcher Ba' Pharm commented: "Upgrading mattress quality would save money and improve quality of life for elderly patients in emergency departments."
Another study carried out by the Harvard Medical School recently found that the US economy is losing out on hours of worker productivity due to sleeplessness.
Ronald Kessler, a psychiatric epidemiologist and professor of healthcare policy at the institution, suggested that people often under-estimate just how debilitating insomnia can be.
Posted by Michael Ewing
