UK pressure ulcer prevention specialist, Rober is dedicated to preventing and eliminating pressure injuries. The company has developed a series of mattresses that stop the skin from being damaged by pressure. Managing Director, Mike Hutson explains more about the technology and his continued commitment to provide patient care and comfort.
Why do people get pressure ulcers?
When people have health conditions that make it difficult for them to move they become at risk of pressure ulcers. This is especially the case for anyone who is confined to lying in a bed or sitting for prolonged periods of time. Pressure ulcers can form anywhere on the body, but contact areas that are not covered by a large amount of body fat are most vulnerable. This includes body parts such as shoulders, elbows, back of the head, ears, knees, ankles, heels or toes or spine. Most especially it includes those parts that are in contact with the bed or wheelchair.
Why are pressure ulcers such a problem?
Ulcers are unpleasant, uncomfortable and unnecessary. They are painful for the patient and in worst cases can lead to social isolation, hospitalisation, amputation or fatalities. They are also expensive to treat. In the UK alone, they affect over 700,000 people a year, adding an additional £4,000 per ulcer onto each patient’s care bill. This doesn’t have to be the case the case though. It is estimated that 80 – 95% of pressure ulcers are avoidable with the right mattress and nursing care.
Tell us more about Rober’s pressure-reducing technology
We use an alternating ripple effect in our mattress range. This provides regular and complete pressure elimination to all parts of the body. The constant movement of the mattress ensures that we can avoid prolonged periods of single point contact and associated friction. Our new generation of mattresses are fully automatic, so patients require less manual repositioning. This reduced need for regular physical intervention is both popular with nurses and cost-effective for the care provider.
What are your priorities when it comes to mattress design?
We’ve focused our technology on optimising four key areas – microclimate control, patient safety and comfort, infection control and enhanced nursing support. With these priorities in mind, each of our NoDec™ mattresses includes additional features such as a touch screen display panel, comfort settings, timed static mode, audible and visual alarms, and permanently inflated side formers, all providing great benefits to patients and busy nursing staff.
What types of mattress does Rober offer?
I am proud to say we now offer a full range of alternating mattress solutions. We aim to cater for all, from the immobile and critically ill to the challenge of bariatric patients. We also have mattresses that focus on the heel – a key risk area for pressure ulcers.
What are Rober’s plans for the future?
As a UK company and a “Made in Britain” member we are passionate about UK manufacturing. It is important to continually identify innovative solutions to assist our growth. To this end, we are significantly investing in collaborative working to ensure that we stay at the forefront of technology. We hope that the outcome of this work is increased profitability through improved quality and operations, increased sales and access to new markets. Our R&D team is also currently developing a third range of lower cost pressure solutions for Third World countries. We hope that by providing undeveloped countries with access to this technology and by working with hospitals directly in these countries, it will help tackle the problem of pressure ulcers globally.
