One of the first things we bought when we knew Mum would be coming home from hospital, was the hospital-style bed. It has all the attributes of a bed to keep patients safe in hospital - in fact, Mum's bed is better than those I have seen on the wards, because the side rails go all the way along each side of the bed, and don't stop in the middle. I think that any patient in hospital, who was determined enough, could sit up and manoeuvre themselves further down the bed and past the rail, swing their legs over the edge, and then get their feet on the floor. Once that was achieved, theoretically any could set off anywhere - or end up having a nasty fall.
Once the side rails of Mum's bed are lifted up and clicked into place, it is impossible for her to lower the rails herself.
Then there is the controller: it has 8 buttons, offering various positions for the comfort of the user: the head, foot and centre of the bed can be raised up or down, and there are options for a "double dip" - up at the head, down in the middle, and up again for the legs.
The whole bed can also be raised to a higher level which saves a lot of bending, and reduces backache; we've been told by many carers, how much easier it is to deal with clients when they have a bed like Mum's, and having to care for people in an ordinary divan bed can be really difficult.
Having just written about all what this bed can do, has made me realise we are almost spoilt for choice with all the combinations that are on offer; and usually the controller is hooked over the second, lower rail, towards the foot of the bed.
One day, not long after she had come home to live with us, the controller was hooked at the foot of the bed, over the top part of the safety rail.
Mum, who was far more agile in those early days than she is now, had managed to sit up, lean far forward, and get hold of the controller.
There are pictograms on it, showing what each button does, but Mum didn't bother to check it to try and work out what position she wanted to be in; she began by pressing every button on the dial, with the result the bed went up and down like a yo yo.
Eventually she called out for some help; we discovered she had also experimented with the legs and head up and down positions. The result was the back of the bed was nearly vertical, her knees were scrunched up in the air, and she resembled a folded "W!" It was no surprise that she had got herself totally confused, and had no idea how to release herself.
She was perfectly safe, but from then on, we made absolutely sure that the controller was well out of Mum's reach.
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