Adult bed guards? Yes or no?

Recently my husband fell out of a hospital bed within hours of an operation! When I queried this I was told that it wasn’t hospital policy to raise the bed guards as it made it higher for the patient to fall out!!!! Why have them then? The charge nurse agreed with me but had to follow rules. Unfortunately DH fell out again and I was told by another patient that it was when he was semi-conscious that he tried to get out. Two days after the 2nd fall he died of heart failure - of course they said the falls weren’t related!!

Why have them then?

They are for moving people on beds & wheeling people down corridors etc. They were never added to prevent falls and should not be used in that way.

Falls from beds with rails UP tend to result in more severe injuries (and higher fatalities) than falls from beds where they're down.

There are other safety features on hospital beds that reduce falls and fall injuries: the low setting & foot level night lights.

I agree it seems counter intuitive.. but there is sound logic & research behind the policy of not using them for people at risk of falls.

You can buy foam, wedge-shaped strips to put under a fitted sheet. Designed for children moving from a cot to a bed. These worked well for my grandchildren. Easy to move out of the way. Supplied as 1 long one, 1 short one - but can’t remember details of company. Sorry. Found online of course.

My friends mum tried to climb over it and got her leg stuck. Fire brigade were called to rescue her.

There is a single pole type with a base you put under the mattress non invasive just a straight pole to cling to on the way out .....supplied here by the physios

I see two variants. First to use bed rails. These supports are made to assist people getting in and out of bed with minimum strain. These are available in a number of designs, some with padded handles for greater user comfort. The scond one is to purchase a new bed frame with lower sides. There are plenty of them on the market (here is a review sleepmentor.net/how-to-find-the-best-bed-frame/)

Might it be a good idea to use for flooring that rubbery stuff they use for under the swings in children's playgrounds?

I found this which might be useful

www.regupol.com.au/products/fitness-sports-leisure/bsw-floorworks-sports-mats/product-details/

My daughter has grab rails all around her ;house, including by the bed and she goes from one rail to the next. Works well for her.

Another idea - why do the beds in care homes and hospitals have to be so high? You wouldn't want them too low or the person would have difficulty getting up to leave the bed.
But about knee high - not so far to fall.

Knee high? my own bed is nearly butt high and makes it great for getting in and out. Knee high would be quite difficult for the physically impaired.

Another idea - why do the beds in care homes and hospitals have to be so high so that the care staff last longer than 2 weeks before going off sick with bad backs.... they should be lowering them when theyre finished though.

Good point notanan - I can understand that.

Thank you so much for all your advise. Some really good points. I never even considered she may harm her self even more so trying to get over something! Although, i'm very thankful she doesn't suffer from any form of dementia etc. So is fully aware of her surroundings.

Rizlett, your absolutely right... trying to see it from another view point really helps. I think I was quick to suggest the most obvious (not considering much else when thinking emotionally - not practically)
We are looking at the one FlexibleFriend recommended - not to restricting but more of an aid to help getting out of bed as appose to keeping her in it - being as this is how she fell.

Thank you all for your help and suggestions.
I will keep you up dated with what we (Mother!) decides.

(What a lovely thing this page is- We weren't expecting quite the response we did)

Victoria some other things to consider

make sure floors are clear, no rugs/mats.

wearing grippy-socks to bed can reduce falls.

Medication can cause falls by dropping your blood pressure so back to GP for a medicine review and ask them to do a lying and standing blood pressure while shes there

suggest that she adopts the habit of sitting upright on the side of the bed for a minute before standing

The bed rail suggestion may have got her back up because bedrails remind people of babies cots & suggest to people that you think theyre going "ga ga", but a large percentage of falls are mechanical or medication related and these things can be fixed/addressed.

oh and a night light. at floor level but not so as to cause an obstacle, maybe a plug-in one

like this: www.amazon.co.uk/Auraglow-Motion-Sensor-Hallway-Emergency/dp/B073XQLH4S/ref=mp_s_a_1_20?ref=plSrch&keywords=plug+night+light&dpPl=1&dpID=41JkgHFg%2BaL&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&tag=gransnetforum-21&ie=UTF8&qid=1531227271&sr=8-20

or you can do a lying/standing blood pressure at home if you have or can borrow a blood pressure monitor. Get her to lie flat for 15mins, take a lying reading, then get her to stand, take 2 readings standing, once straight after standing and once 3 mins later. GP appointments arent always long enough to do proper lying and standing BP cause you have to rest before the first reading. Take the results to the GP for a post fall medicine review.

(p.s. stay standing between 2nd & 3rd reading)