GB2082900A - Patient conveying and supporting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Patient conveying and supporting apparatus in which a frame 15, 16, 17 is positioned peripherally around an inflatable mattress 14 which has been spread out ready for inflation beneath a patient. Securing clips 22 extending along or spaced apart in the length of each of a pair of opposed side members of the frame 15, 16, 17 engages with the mattress 14 along or at a plurality of spaced positions in the length of corresponding edges thereof. The mattress 14 is inflatable after its engagement by the securing clips 22 to effect tensioning of the mattress within the frame 15, 16, 17. An upstanding support 6 engageable with a side member of the frame 15, 16, 17 supports the latter in the manner of a cantilever extending from the side member in the plane of the frame. A trolley 1 on which the support 6 is mounted conveys the frame, together with a mattress when supported thereby, from one location to another. Rams 8 and 9 are provided to raise and lower the support, and thus the frame and mattress when mounted thereon, with respect to the trolley 1. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Patient conveying and supporting apparatus The invention relates to a patient conveying and supporting apparatus and is particularly concerned with apparatus for transferring a patient from bed in a hospital ward to other parts of a hospital, for example to an operating theatre or X-ray or radiography department, and back to a ward.

Objects of the invention include: 1. eliminating manual lifting and consequent injuries to staff and patients; 2. reducing the number of staff required to transfer patients, and simplifying special techniques used in transferring difficult cases such as, patients with cardiac arrest or obesity, debilitated, traumatised and incontinent patients; 3. reducing the number of physical transfers involved in pre-operative, post-operative and casualty conveyances; 4. eliminating the need for special purpose trolleys used in treatment throughout different hospital departments; 5. overcoming patient discomfort of trolleys having non-suspended hard mattresses; 6. providing an alternative to manual trolley propulsion in large hospitals with long corridors, and 7. reducing corridor space occupied by unused trolleys.

According to the invention, a patient conveying and supporting apparatus comprises a frame to be positioned peripherally around an inflatable mattress which has been spread out ready for inflation; securing means extending along or spaced apart in the length of each of at least a pair of opposed side members of the frame and engageable with the mattress along or at a plurality of spaced positions in the length of corresponding edges thereof, the mattress being inflatable after its engagement by the securing means to effect tensioning of the mattress within the frame; an upstanding support engageable with a side member of the frame to support the latter in the manner of a cantilever extending from the side member in the plane of the frame; a trolley on which the support is mounted, whereby the frame, together with a mattress when supported thereby, is transportable from one location to another, and means for raising and lowering the support, and thus the frame and mattress when mounted thereon, with respect to the trolley.

Conveniently, the side member of the frame which is movable with the support has a support bracket rigidly attached thereto or integral therewith and which is detachably engageable with and is of complementary shape to an upper end portion of the support.

Preferably, the frame has a pair of said support brackets, one on each of the pair of opposed side members of the frame, whereby one or other support bracket is detachably engageable with the support on a trolley, thereby to enable the frame, with the mattress supported thereby, to be transferred from a first to a second trolley of a pair of like trolleys arranged side-by-side by the frame being supported initially by one of the support brackets engaging the support on the first trolley, by engaging the other support bracket with the support on the second trolley while said one support bracket is still engaging the support on the first trolley and then by disengaging said one support bracket from the support of the first trolley.The support may be offset from the transverse centre-line of a trolley so that it is nearer to one end of the trolley than to the other end thereof, whereby a pair of like trolleys can be so nested one in the other that their respective supports are positioned beneath corresponding support brackets of the frame, thereby to enable the transfer of the frame from the first to the second trolley to be effected while the two trolleys are so nested together.

The support on the trolley may include a pair of parallel, independently-operable, verticallymovable members of which the upper ends are arranged to support the support bracket of the frame, whereby on raising or lowering both members simultaneously while their upper ends remain level, the frame will be raised or lowered while remaining substantially level and on raising or lowering one of the members relatively to the other, the frame will be raised or lowered in a forwardly- or rearwardly-inclined condition or will be inclined forwardly or rearwardly. Conveniently the members may be rams.

The upper end of the support on the trolley and the or each support bracket on the frame may have co-operable or releasable latch means to prevent inadvertent removal of the frame from the support on the trolley.

The frame may have an end portion adjacent one or each end thereof which is hinged to a centre portion of the frame about a transverse axis, whereby the end portion may be tipped to an upwardly-inclined position with respect to the centre portion. The or each end portion of the frame may be supportable in any one of a plurality of inclined positions by at least one telescopicallyadjustable strut acting between the end portion of the frame, and a member fixed with respect to the centre portion of the frame.The or each telescopic strut may comprise an outer portion pivotally mounted on the pivotable end portion of the frame and having a plurality of longitudinally-spaced slots or holes therein and an inner portion pivotally mounted on said fixed member and having a detent thereon which is engageable in a selected one of said slots or holes in the outer portion, thereby to determine the length of the strut and hence the angle of inclination of said end portion of the frame with respect to the centre portion thereof.Conveniently, the inner portion of the or each telescopic strut may be rigidly mounted on a member extending transversely of the frame and rotatably supported by said fixed member, whereby the rotatable transverse member is rotatable in one direction with respect to the fixed member to permit the detent to engage with a slot or hole in the outer portion of the telescopic strut and the rotatable transverse member is rotatable in the reverse direction with respect to the fixed member to disengage the detent from the slot or hole in the outer portion of the telescopic strut to enable the latter to be extended or contracted. The fixed member may conveniently be a buffer bar positioned outside the frame, the rotatable member carrying the inner portion of the or each telescopic strut being a tubular sleeve rotatable on the buffer bar.

The inflatable mattress to be used with the apparatus as set out in any one of the immediately preceding six paragraphs may have along its edges which are to be held by the securing means, a thickened marginal portion forming a beading and each of the securing means on the frame may comprise a clip which is pivotally-mounted on the respective side member of the frame to be movable into and out of a position in which the clip engages the mattress edge at a position thereon which is inboard with respect to the beading and thereby retains the mattress by preventing the beading from being pulled inwardly of the mattress from between the clip and the frame. Preferably the pivot of each clip is offset from the plane of the mattress edge and is inboard of the beading.The pivoting of the clip to engage the mattress at a position inboard of the beading therefore tends to lock the clip in the position in which the mattress is held by the clip and furthermore when the mattress has been inflated, the latter will become taut between pairs of opposed clips, thereby pulling the beading at the opposed edges of the mattress inwardly into tight engagement with the respective clips, thereby preventing the clips from being pivoted out of their locking positions until the mattress has been deflated. Conveniently the trolley may carry a gas cylinder for inflating the mattress.

The invention also includes the mattress to be used with the apparatus and having the marginal beading as set out in the immediately preceding paragraph. The mattress may additionally be constructed in two half portions, securable together along a longitudinal centre-line of the mattress and which are completely separable one from the other or are permanently secured together adjacent one end of the mattress. Each half portion of the mattress may additionally be divided transversely into forward and rearward end portions which are completely separable from each other or are permanently secured together adjacent the outer longitudinal edge of the respective half portion. The half portion or the half portions and the forward and rearward end portions thereof may be securable together by continuous fasteners. For example, fasteners of the zip type.The portions of the mattress may have interconnecting internal inflation passages or individual inflation valves. The mattress may have drainage channels or apertures therein to permit the mattress to be used for bathing or like treatment. For example, when it is supported by the frame over a bath tub. Preferably internal inflation passages in the mattress may extend longitudinally thereof; but they may extend transversely.

The trolley may have coupling means for engagement by a powered vehicle whereby the trolley is propelled from one location to another.

The coupling means may be provided on the outer side of the trolley, whereby the powered vehicle is positioned alongside the trolley while it is propelling the trolley.

The invention also includes a method of patient transfer by using the apparatus as set out hereinbefore, the method consisting in the steps of placing a deflated, spread-out, mattress beneath a lying-down patient; moving the trolley to a position such that the frame is positioned above the mattress; lowering the frame until it is substantially level with the mattress; securing the mattress to the frame by the securing means; inflating the mattress; raising the frame to lift the mattress with the patient lying thereon, and transporting the trolley to a new location.

Where the patient is to be placed there on a supporting surface, such as a bed or operating table, the method includes the additional steps of lowering the frame until the mattress is resting on the supporting surface; deflating the mattress; disengaging the mattress from the securing means on the frame; raising the frame clear of the patient and removing the frame by means of the trolley. The deflated mattress may be removed from beneath the patient.

Where the patient is to be taken into an operating theatre, a second sterile or clean trolley could be used for transporting the patient within the theatre. Therefore when the patient on the inflated mattress supported by the frame mounted on the first trolley has reached an entrance to the operating theatre, the second sterile or clean trolley is nested with the first trolley; the support on the second trolley is engaged with said other support bracket of the frame, as aforesaid; the support on the first trolley is disengaged from said one support bracket of the frame and the second trolley is separated from the first trolley and transports the patient on the mattress and frame into the theatre. Then the patient is placed on the operating table in the manner as set out in the immediately preceding paragraph.

Other features of the apparatus and the method of using the apparatus will be described n the following description given by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus; Figure 2 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a part-section on the line Ill-Ill in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the apparatus shown in Figure 1, showing the first stage of transfer of the mattress-supporting frame to a second trolley; Figure 5 is a perspective view from the side of the apparatus shown in Figure 1 with the mattress frame tipped to an inclined position and one end portion of the frame and mattress inclined with respect to a centre portion of the frame;; Figure 6 is an exploded view of a telescopic strut by which an end portion of the frame is held in an inclined position with respect to a centre portion of the frame; Figure 7 is an underplan view of the outer member of the telescopic strut in the direction of arrow Vli in Figure 6; Figure 8 is a diagrammatic transverse section through part of the mattress and the securing means therefor on the frame showing how the mattress is held by the frame, and Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure 8 illustrating the release of the mattress from the frame.

The apparatus as shown in Figure 1, 2, 4 and 5 includes a trolley 1 comprising a frame 2, 3 supported by four castor wheels 4 forming a rectangular wheel-base, as view in plane. The frame, as viewed in plan has one side 2 and two ends 3 (shown in Figure 4) and is open at the other side. The single side 2 of the frame supports a housing 5 for an upright pillar-like support 6 fitted with a cap 7 of upwardly-convergent generally-triangular shape, as viewed in crosssection (see Figures 3 and 4). The support 6 and the cap 7 which can be tipped in the fore-and-aft direction of-the trolley with respect to the 6, is movable vertically with respect to the housing 5 and includes a pair of independently vertically-movable slides 8, 9 (see Figures 1 and 5) to enable the cap 7 to be tipped in the fore-andaft direction of the trolley.The slides 8 and 9 are movable by hydraulic rams, not shown, which are raised by means of the pedal 10 and lowered by means of the pedal 11, shown in Figure 1. A lever 1 2 controls the fluid circuitry of the rams and determines whether both rams or only one of the rams is raised by depression of the pedal 10 and hence whether the cap 7 is level or is tipped forwardly or rearwardly with respect to the trolley 1. The housing 5 and the support 6 are protected by a bumper bar and hand rail 13 mounted on the cap 7.

The apparatus also includes a frame which extends, in use, peripherally around an inflated mattress 14 (shown in Figures 2, 4 and 5). The frame has a centre portion 1 5 and two end portions 16 and 17 which are hinged to the centre portion 1 5 about transverse axes provided by hinges within gaiters 18, shown in Figure 1, 2, 4 and 5. Opposite side members of the centre portion 1 5 of the frame are rigid with a pair of brackets 1 9 which are of complementary shape to the cap 7 of the support 6.One of the brackets 1 9 rests over the cap 7 and supports the centre portion 1 5 of the frame in a horizontal position, in the direction transverse to the trolley, in the manner of a cantilever extending in the plane of the centre portion 1 5. The bracket 1 9 engaging the cap 7 is held rigidly on the cap 7 of the support 6 by latch means (not shown) which are releasable by the operator depressing release members 20 (shown in Figure 1). The frame is enclosed within a bumper and hand rail bar 21 extending rigidly from the brackets 1 9.

The mattress 1 4 is secured along its side edges by blade-like clips 22 which are pivotally mounted on corresponding side members of the frame. The mattress has pull tabs 23, or larger marginal portions, to enable the edges of the mattress to be pulled beneath clips 22, as will now be described with particular reference to Figures 8 and 9. In Figures 8 and 9, a side member 24 of the frame portions 15, 1 6 and 1 7 is shown carrying a bracket 25 on which a clip 22 is pivotally mounted at 26. The mattress 14 has a peripheral beading 27 along its edges. This is formed, for example, by moulding a cord in the marginal, non-inflatable portion of the mattress.The mattress 1 4 is initially un-inflated and is spread-out and the frame is placed around the mattress, as will hereinafter be described. The clips 22 are each pivoted to the position shown in Figure 8 and the adjacent edge of the mattress is pulled underneath the clip 22 by means of the tabs 23, so that the lower edge of the clip 22 rests against the inboard side of the beading 27. In this way the un-inflated mattress is suspended along both its side edges within the frame. The mattress 14 is then inflated, as indicated in Figure 8, the inflation causing the mattress to be held taut between opposed clips 22 and the beading 27 to be pulled tightly against the lower edges of the clips 22.The pivot 26 of each clip 22 is offset both inwardly of the mattress and outwardly from the plane of the non-inflatable marginal portion thereof and so it held by the inflated mattress in the locked position shown in Figure 8. To release the mattress the latter is first deflated and then the clips 22 are each pivoted to the position shown in Figure 9, thereby permitting the mattress to be released from the frame when the latter is raised with respect to the mattress as will hereinafter be described. The mattress is inflated by attaching an inlet valve (not shown) to a nitrogen cylinder 35 carried on the trolley 1.

Reference 36 denotes an oxygen cylinder also carried on the trolley 1.

As stated hereinbefore, the frame has a pair of laterally-opposite brackets 1 9. This is to enable the frame to be mounted on the cap 7 of a support 6 at either side of the frame or to enable a trolley to be used when facing either forward or backward and also to enable a frame and mattress to be transferred, for the purpose hereinafter explained, from one trolley to another. This is done by introducing the second trolley to the first trolley with its frame members 3 in a staggered nested arrangement with respect to the frame members 3 of the first trolley and with the side frame members 2 at opposite sides of the common wheel-base of the two trolleys shown in Figure 4.

To enable the frame members 3 to be so arranged, the housing 5 and the support 6 of each trolley are nearer to one end frame member 3 than to the other end frame member 3. In Figure 4 the second trolley is indicated by reference 1' and similarly the other parts of or associated with the trolley 1' are distinguished by the suffix (').The transfer of the frame and the mattress will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to patient handling, but, briefly, the frame and mattress are transferred from the trolley 1 to the trolley 1' after the trolley 1 has been nested with the trolley 1, as illustrated in Figure 4, by lowering the support 6 with respect to the trolley 1 until the alternative bracket indicated at 19', has engaged the cap 7' of the support 6' of the trolley 1'.The frame and mattress are therefore now supported by both trolley 1 and 1'.

Then the support 6' is raised with respect to the trolley 1' to lift the frame until the bracket 1 9 has been raised clear of the cap 7 of the support 6.

The trolley 1 or 1' is then removed from nesting relationship with the other trolley. The transfer can be effected either when the centre portion 15 of the frame is horizontal or when the frame is tipped forwardly or rearwardly.

As stated hereinbefore, either or both end portions 16, 17 of the frame may be inclined relatively to the centre portion 1 5 thereof. To enable an end portion to be so inclined and to be held in any one of a plurality of predetermined inclined positions, the end portion 16 or 17 is supported by a pair of telescopic struts each consisting of a tubular outer member 28 and an inner member 29 (see Figures 5, 6 and 7). The outer member 28 of each strut is pivotally mounted at 30 to the relevant side of the end portion 16 or 17 of the frame. The inner member 29 of each of a pair at one end of the frame is rigidly attached to a tubular sleeve 31 rotatable on the end member of the buffer and hand-rail 21.

The end of each inner member 29 remote from the sleeve 31 forms a detent 32 which is engageable in any one of a plurality of slots 33 or holes in the respective outer member 28. The detents 32 of a pair of inner members 29 are disengaged from the respective slots 33 by turning the sleeve 31 on the buffer and hand-rail 21 to permit the end portion 16 or 17 of the frame to be raised or lowered and are allowed to enter appropriate slots 33 to lock the struts to their required length by releasing the sleeve 31 to permit it to turn on the buffer and hand-rail.

The trolley 1 may be pushed or it may be propelled by a powered vehicle or tug. This is conveniently positioned alongside the trolley so that the driver of the vehicle or a nurse sitting alongside or in tandem with the driver can attend to a patient supported on the mattress. A coupling 37 is provided on the housing 5 to engage the trolley 1 with a powered vehicle or tug alongside the trolley.

The use of the apparatus to transfer a patient from one location to another is now described.

Assuming that a patient is lying down, for example, on a bed in a general or casualty ward, a mattress 14 is spread-out un-inflated beneath the patient. This operation may be performed by rolling the patient, where the patient cannot be lifted. A trolley 1 on which a frame 15, 16, 17 is mounted is advanced to the patient until the frame is positioned above the mattress on which the patient is lying. The frame is then lowered until it is level with the mattress 14. Then the mattress 14 is secured to the frame by using the clips 22, as already described, and the mattress is inflated to tension the latter and thus to lock the clips and to support the patient. Then the frame is raised by raising the support 6 to lift the mattress together with the patient from the bed. The trolley is then moved to the required location.The patient can remain on the inflated mattress 14 or the patient can be placed on another bed or table by lowering the frame, deflating the mattress, opening the clips 22 and then raising the frame to disengage the latter from the mattress and to remove the frame and the trolley from the vicinity of the patient. The deflated mattress can either be left under the patient or be removed.

Where the patient is to be taken into an operating theatre, the frame, together with the inflated mattress and the patient lying thereon, is transferred at the entrance to the theatre from the first trolley 1, which is not sterile, to a second trolley 1' which is sterile, as described hereinbefore with reference to Figure 4. The second trolley 1' is then moved to the operating table where the frame is lowered to place the mattress with the patient thereon on the operating table, the mattress is deflated, the frame is disengaged from the mattress and is removed with the trolley 1', the deflated mattress being left in position beneath the patient. After the operation, the frame is brought back by the sterile trolley 1' and lowered over the patient, the mattress is secured by the clips 22 and reinflated.

Then the frame is raised together with the mattress and the patient thereon and the patient wheeled away to a recovery ward.

The frame can be tipped, as required, by means of the slides 8 and 9. For example, the patient can be placed in a Trendelenberg tilt and can be kept in that position while being transferred back to a ward bed-base. The frame may have a drip-pole clamped thereto. When the drip-pole is not in use, it can be carried in a stowed position on the trolley. For cardiac and other conditions, one or other of the end portions of the frame may be tilted, as already described. if required an end portion 16, 17 of the frame may be tilted relatively to the centre portion 1 5 while the latter is held in an inclined forward or rearward position by operation of the slides 8 and 9.

The apparatus may be used to support or transfer a patient for X-ray, radiography or scanning treatment or investigation and in such cases the mattress would be made of a radiopermeable or like material.

Another application is to use the apparatus to hold a patient on a mattress over a bath tub for bathing or for treatment for burns or spinal injuries. In such an application the mattress may be provided with drainage channels or holes.

To enable the mattress to be placed under a patient or to be removed therefrom, it may be made in two half portions separable and securable together along a longitudinal centre-line. For example, by a continuous fastener of the zip type.

The two half portions may be completely separable and thus have individual valves, or one end of the mattress may be common to both portions and be an integral part of the mattress and so form a hinge. To facilitate still further the placing and removal of the mattress, each longitudinal half portion may be made in two foreand-aft quarter portions which are completely separable or are hinged by an integral portion at the laterally outer edge of the half portion. The quarter portions may be securable together by continuous zip or other fasteners.

The inflation passages in the mattress or mattress portions may extend transversely, as shown, or longitudinally of the mattress.

The frame may be provided with straps, not shown, to restrain a patient.

The open-sided wheel-base frame formed by members 2 and 3 enable trolleys, when not in use to support frames, to be nested one in another, as shown in Figure 4, thereby to reduce storage space occupied in hospital corridors and like places.

Claims (32)

1. A patient conveying and supporting apparatus comprising a frame to be positioned peripherally around an inflatable mattress which has been spread out ready for inflation; securing means extending along or spaced apart in the length of each of at least a pair of opposed side members of the frame and engageable with the mattress along or at a plurality of spaced positions in the length of corresponding edges thereof, the mattress being inflatable after its engagement by the securing means to effect tensioning of the mattress within the frame; an upstanding support engageable with a side member of the frame to support the latter in the manner of a cantilever extending from the side member in the plane of the frame; a trolley on which the support is mounted, whereby the frame, together with a mattress when supported thereby, is transportable from one location to another, and means for raising and lowering the support, and thus the frame and mattress when mounted thereon, with respect to the trolley.

2. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 in which the side member of the frame which is movable with the support has a support bracket rigidly attached thereto or integral therewith and which is detachably engageable with and is of complementary shape to an upper end portion of the support.

3. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 2 in which the frame has a pair of said support brackets, one on each of the pair of opposed side members of the frame, whereby one or other support bracket is detachably engageable with the support on a trolley, thereby to enable the frame, with the mattress supported thereby, to be transferred from a first to a second trolley of a pair of like trolleys arranged side-by-side by the frame being supported initially by one of the support brackets engaging the support on the first trolley, by engaging the other support bracket with the support on the second trolley while said one support bracket is still engaging the support on the first trolley and then by disengaging said one support bracket from the support of the first trolley.

4. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 3 in which the support is offset from the transverse centre-line of a trolley so that it is nearer to one end of the trolley than to the other end thereof, whereby a pair of like trolleys can be so nested one in the other that their respective supports are positioned beneath corresponding support brackets of the frame, thereby to enable the transfer of the frame from the first to the second trolley to be effected while the two trolleys are so nested together.

5. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim in which the support on the trolley includes a pair of parallel, independently-operable, verticallymovable members of which the upper ends are arranged to support the support bracket of the frame, whereby on raising or lowering both members simultaneously while their upper ends remain level, the frame will be raised or lowered while remaining substantially level and on raising or lowering one of the members relatively to the other, the frame will be raised or lowered in a forwardly- or rearwardly-inclined condition or will be inclined forwardly or rearwardly.

6. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 5 in which each said member is a ram.

7. Apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 2-4 in which the upper end of the support on the trolley and the or each support bracket on the frame have co-operable or releasable latch means to prevent inadvertent removal of the frame from the support on the trolley.

8. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim in which the frame has an end portion adjacent one or each end thereof which is hinged to a centre portion of the frame about a transverse axis, whereby the end portion can be tipped to an upwardly-inclined position with respect to the centre portion.

9. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 8 in which the or each end portion of the frame is supportable in any one of a plurality of inclined positions by at least one telescopically-adjustable strut acting between the end portion of the frame and a member fixed with respect to the centre portion of the frame.

10. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 9 in which the or each telescopic strut comprises an outer portion pivotally mounted on the pivotable end portion of the frame and having a plurality of longitudinally-spaced slots or holes therein and an inner portion pivotally mounted on said fixed member and having a detent thereon which is engageable in a selected one of said slots or holes in the outer portion, thereby to determine the length of the strut and hence the angle of inclination of said end portion of the frame with respect to the centre portion thereof.

11. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 10 in which the inner portion of the or each telescopic strut is rigidly mounted on a member extending transversely of the frame and rotatably supported by said fixed member, whereby the rotatable transverse member is rotatable in one direction with respect to the fixed member to permit the detent to engage with a slot or hole in the outer portion of the telescopic strut and the rotatable transverse member is rotatable in the reverse direction with respect to the fixed member to disengage the detent from the slot or hole in the outer portion of the telescopic strut to enable the latter to be extended or contracted.

12. Apparaus as claimed in Claim 11 in which the fixed member is a buffer bar positioned outside the frame, the rotatable member carrying the inner portion of the or each telescopic strut being a tubular sleeve rotatable on the buffer bar.

13. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim including a mattress having along its edges which are to be held by the securing means, a thickened marginal portion forming a beading and each of the securing means on the frame may comprise a clip which is pivotally-mounted on the respective side member of the frame to be movable into and out of a position in which the clip engages the mattress edge at a position thereon which is inboard with respect to the beading and thereby retains the mattress by preventing the beading from being pulled inwardly of the mattress from between the clip and the frame.

14. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 13 in which the pivot of each clip is offset from the plane of the mattress edge and is inboard of the beading.

1 5. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim in which the trolley includes a support for a gas cylinder for storing gas for inflating the mattress.

16. A mattress to be used in apparatus according to Claim 13 or 14.

1 7. A mattress as claimed in Claim 1 6 which is constructed in two half portions, securable together along a longitudinal centre-line of the mattress and which are completely separable one from the other or are permanently secured together adjacent one end of the mattress.

18. A mattress as claimed in Claim 17 in which each half portion of the mattress is divided transversely into forward and rearward end portions which are completely separable from each other or are permanently secured together adjacent the outer longitudinal edge of the respective half portion.

19. A mattress as claimed in Claim 17 in which the half portions are securable together by continuous fasteners.

20. A mattress as claimed in Claim 1 8 in which the half portions and the forward and rearward end portions of each half portion are securable together by continuous fasteners.

21. A mattress as claimed in Claim 19 or 20 in which the continuous fasteners are each of the zip type.

22. A mattress as claimed in any of Claims 17-21 in which the detachable portions of the mattress have interconnecting internal inflation passages.

23. A mattress as claimed in any of Claims 17-21 in which the detachable portions of the mattress have individual inflation valves.

24. A mattress as claimed in any of Claims 1 6-23 having drainage channels or apertures therein.

25. A mattress as claimed in any of Claims 1 6-24 having internal inflation passages which extend longitudinally of the mattress.

26. Apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 1-15 in which the trolley has coupling means for engagement by a powered vehicle whereby the trolley is to be propelled from one location to another.

27. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 26 in which the coupling means is provided on the outer side of the trolley, whereby the powered vehicle is positioned alongside the trolley while it is being used to propel the trolley.

28. A patient conveying and supporting apparatus constructed and arranged substantially as described herein and shown in the accompanying drawings.

29. A method of patient transfer by using the apparatus as claimed in any of the preceding claims, the method consisting in the steps of placing a deflated, spread-out, mattress beneath a lying-down patient; moving the trolley to a position such that the frame is positioned above the mattress; lowering the frame until it is substantially level with the mattress; securing the mattress to the frame by the securing means; inflating the mattress; raising the frame to lift the mattress with the patient lying thereon, and transporting the trolley to a new location.

30. The method according to Claim 29, where the patient is to be placed on a supporting surface, such as a bed or operating table, including the additional steps of lowering the frame until the mattress is resting on the supporting surface; deflating the mattress; disengaging the mattress from the securing means on the frame; raising the frame clear of the patient and removing the frame by means of the trolley.

31. A method of patient transfer, including transfer from a first trolley to be used outside a sterile area to a second trolley, which is sterile or clean, to be used within a sterile area by using the, apparatus as claimed in Claim 4, the method consisting in the steps of placing a deflated, spread-out mattress beneath a lying-down patient; moving the first trolley with the frame carried by the support of the first trolley engaged with one support bracket of the frame to a position such that the frame is positioned above the mattress; lowering the frame until it is substantially level with the mattress; securing the mattress to the frame by the securing means; inflating the mattress; raising the frame to lift the mattress with the patient lying thereon, and transporting the trolley to an entrance to the sterile area; nesting the second trolley with the first trolley; engaging the support on the second trolley with the other support bracket of the frame; disengaging the support on the first trolley from said one support bracket of the frame; separating the second trolley from the first trolley and transporting the patient on the mattress and frame into the sterile area.

32. The method according to Claim 31 ,where the patient is to be placed on a supporting surface, such as an operating table, including the additional steps of lowering the frame until the mattress is resting on the supporting surface; deflating the mattress; disengaging the mattress from the securing means on the frame; raising the frame clear of the patient and removing the frame by means of the second trolley,