Description:
Emergency evacuation of immobilised hospital patients usually take place during fire breakouts and potential flooding caused by approaching hurricanes. Of concern is transporting bedridden patients down stairwells.
Sleds have been proposed but require at least two hospital staff members to raise the patient out of the bed into a sled, whom then needs to be strapped down before being moved out of harms way.
This hospital mattress is designed for single-handed evacuation of a bed-ridden patient. The mattress contains two Mylar sheets that are integrated into the traditional canvas covering of the mattress and folded away in pouches at the head and foot end of the mattress. Each stowed evacuation sheet contains a protruding strap handle by which it can be extracted from the pouch and pulled across the patient still lying on the bed.
The head-end evacuation sheet contains an opening to accommodate the head of the patient and extends more than half the length of the mattress ensuring it overlaps the deployed foot end of the sheet. The two sheets are secured together with Velcro strips to form a retaining envelope around the patient. A cord handle secured to the bottom and top end of the mattress is used to pull the patient across hospital corridors and down stairways with minimal physical trauma to the patient.
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