What alternatives to foam are there for cushions and mattresses that can tick all the boxes for skin health, manual handling challenges, and infection prevention, while also being fully recyclable? One solution is 3D spun thermoplastic elastomers, found in the NEST pressure care products.
For skin health, the NEST can not only provide comparable pressure care to a foam mattress, but also the 3D random loop structure of the polymer web absorbs various of the shear strains under the skin tissues. The open structure allows for heat and water vapour dissipation. The 3D structure provides a ‘springiness’ which facilitates movement, enabling turning in bed or movement on a cushion, thereby offering further pressure redistribution properties and aiding independence.
From the carers’ point of view, the lightweight nature of the material means that NEST mattresses can be lifted and turned by a single person, providing a major manual handling advantage.
Infection prevention
On the infection prevention front, the elastomer inhibits bacterial growth. Both the cover and the core can be decontaminated in washing machines: the core material can also be sterilised at temperatures of 100oC or more, without damaging the plastic.
Sustainability and environmental credentials
Not only can the NEST be washed and disinfected when soiled, and between uses, the core material at end of life (5 years for cushions, 8 years for mattresses) can be recycled into new plastic products, and thus avoid the need to go to landfill. The NHS in the UK, and procurement bodies around the world in tender documents are increasingly seeking out and specifying sustainable offerings. The NEST ticks these boxes.
NEST mattress benefits include:
- Class I medical device
- Good pressure care
- Microclimate benefits
- Improved shear dissipation
- Lightweight
- Bactericidal core
- Washable core
- Recyclable materials
- Full life cost savings
The NEST cushions and mattresses, as well as CE Class IIa bed and mattress washer-disinfectors, are available from BES Healthcare (www.beshealthcare.net).
