GB2282126A - An aid particularly for the transfer of patients - Google Patents

Abstract

A transfer aid particularly for use in repositioning patients comprises an open-ended tube 11 of flexible sheet material with a low-friction internal surface which can be collapsed on itself to form two layers, one superposed on the other, the aid including at least one handgrip 16 attached to the sheet material and usable to slide the upper layer, and a patient supported thereon, on the lower layer in a direction generally perpendicular to the tube axis such that the upper layer progressively transfers to the lower position and the patient is simultaneously moved from one position to another. Preferably two handles made from elongate tape material are stitched to the tube ends. <IMAGE>

Description

AN AID PARTICULARLY FOR THE TRANSFER OF PATIENTS The present invention relates to an aid particularly for use in repositioning patients although it could have more general usage for the transfer and repositioning of loads and should not be considered as limited to patient transfer.

It is well known that considerable effort needs to be exerted by any one person to move another human being manually. Aids have therefore been developed to assist persons, such as hospital staff, who need to move people frequently during the course of their work, in order to reduce the strain and fatigue involved. Indeed such aids are becoming ever more necessary in order to comply with an E.C. directive on the handling of loads.

One such aid which has been developed consists of an open-ended, cylindrical tube of low-friction, flexible sheet material which can be collapsed to a state in which two halves of the sheet are superposed one on the other.

The doubled sheet is placed on a supporting surface, whether this be a bed, stretcher, operating table or whatever, next to a patient who is to be moved and the patient is gently rolled onto the sheet which, if crumpled in the process, is then pulled flat. The patient may then be pushed gently on the doubled sheet in a direction generally perpendicular to the tube axis, friction between him and the upper half-sheet causing this to move with him and to slide on the lower halfsheet. The tube in fact acts like a conveyor belt, the upper half-sheet, or upper pass, being progressively transferred to the position of the underlying half-sheet and vice versa. As the portion of the upper sheet carrying the patient's weight transfers to the underlying position, the patient himself is transferred from the sheet on to the adjacent supporting surface and his movement ceases.The patient is thus repositioned without the attendant members of staff needing to lift him or exert any great effort to effect the movement.

It will be appreciated that the magnitude of the transfer movements that can be effected with such an aid depend on its size and therefore tubes are provided in various sizes; in general, since the movement is perpendicular to the tube axis, its magnitude is determined by the tube diameter. Although the direction of the movement is generally perpendicular to the axis, the flexible nature of the tube material allows the tube to be placed on surfaces with a single degree of curvature or over an edge, such as the edge of a bed, to assist in the transfer of a patient not just in a purely rectilinear direction but from one attitude to another, for example from a prone to a sitting position.

Although the aid described above is extremely useful, it has certain limitations or drawbacks. In particular, in order to move a patient on the tubular sheet it is necessary to push and handle the patient himself whereas in some cases, such as severe burns cases, this is undesirable.

In addition, the use of a low-friction material for the tube can result in the patient sliding across the surface of the tube itself, not always in the desired direction of movement, rather than sliding together with the upper sheet on the lower sheet.

The present invention seeks to provide an improved patient transfer aid which at least partly overcomes the above problems. Accordingly, in one aspect, the present invention provides a transfer aid particularly for use in repositioning patients comprising an open-ended tube of flexible sheet material with a low-friction internal surface which can be collapsed on itself to form two layers, one superposed on the other, the aid including at least one handgrip attached to the sheet material and usable to slide the upper layer, and a patient supported thereon, on the lower layer in a direction generally perpendicular to the tube axis such that the upper layer progressively transfers to the lower position and the patient is simultaneously transported from one position to another.

The tube of the invention may be formed from flat sheet material, cut, folded and joined along overlapping or butted edges or may be manufactured in tubular form by any suitable method. Any joins should be as flat as possible so as not to hinder the sliding/rolling movement of the sheet in use.

The provision of a handgrip for the sheet material enables a tractive force to be exerted on the sheet itself to move the upper half-sheet, with the patient thereon, in the desired direction and reduces the need to push the patient himself. The nature of the handgrip and its attachment to the sheet material should not obstruct the movement of the tubular sheet material: these factors are not critical if the handgrip remains on the upper surface of the aid in use but must be considered if the handgrip is to be transferred to the underside at any stage. This may happen, for example if several handgrips are provided round the circumference of the aid.For this reason, the or each handgrip is preferably attached to the sheet material by a flat, flexible portion thereof which is superposed on, or coplanar with, the sheet material and which does not increase the bulk of the material or stiffen it appreciably. If the handgrip itself is superposed on the sheet material it should also be of a flat, flexible material: a more rigid or bulky handgrip may be provided as long as it projects from the edge of the sheet but this is not preferred.

A handgrip may be provided generally centrally of the sheet but it is much preferred to provide handgrips at free end edges defining the tube openings. Preferably a pair of handgrips is provided, one at each free edge of a cylindrical tube at opposite ends of a generatrix of the tube: several such pairs may be provided around the tube circumference.

In preferred embodiments of the invention the handgrips comprise fabric loops extending circumferentially along the free edges of the tubes, attached to the tube fabric at their ends but free to be gripped at their centres.

Such loops may be formed in various ways, for example integrally with the tube fabric during its manufacture, either as a supplementary layer of fabric on the outer surface of the tube or coplanar with the tube fabric but separated therefrom by a slot. Alternatively a slot may be cut in the tube fabric to divide the handgrip from the tube proper, the cut edges being strengthened as necessary. In currently preferred embodiments, however, the fabric loops are formed from tapes attached to the tube fabric. Such tapes may extend around the entire circumference of the tube, being attached to the tube except along those portions intended to form the handgrips. Alternatively, and in a currently preferred embodiment, these handle tapes are attached to an additional tape which extends around the circumference of the tube to strengthen its edges.The tapes may be attached to the tube fabric in any way suitable to the fabric used, for example by heat-sealing in the case of plastics materials, by gluing or by stitching.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a transfer aid particularly for use in repositioning patients, comprising a sheet of flexible material with differential coefficients of friction on its two surfaces formed into an open-ended tube such that the internal surface has the lower coefficient of friction and, when the tube is collapsed to form two layers in contact with each other, the two layers can slide and roll easily in relation to each other and a patient supported on an upper layer of the tube in use can be repositioned by movement with the upper layer on the lower layer in a direction generally perpendicular to the tube axis.

A low-friction internal surface is essential to enable the two halves of the collapsed tube to slide on each other in use while a higher coefficient for the outer surface reduces the opportunity for the patient to slip on this surface. The different coefficients may be achieved in the manufacture of the sheet material itself, for example be weaving a fabric with threads of different materials more prominent on its two faces or by creating a fabric with different textures, one smooth, one rough, on its two faces whether by weaving or moulding.

Conveniently, however, the fabric is woven and is coated on one side with a low-friction film. It is preferred to use a plain-weave fabric for flexibility, woven from strong threads with a relatively low coefficient of friction. In addition, for hospital use, the fabric should be easily cleanable and sterilisable whereby fabrics woven from synthetic filaments are preferred.

Moreover the fabric should preferably also be substantially water-proof which-may be achieved by means of a waterproof coating or by weaving the fabric with a sufficiently close weave. NYLON is found to be a suitable synthetic for this purpose.

Although the open-ended tube constituting the transfer aid of the present invention would normally be cylindrical when not flat, it is conceivable that a frusto-conical tubular aid, or a conical aid, might be useful in some circumstances.

One embodiment of the invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a first embodiment of a transfer aid according to the invention; Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing a handle of the aid of Figure 1 in more detail; Figure 3A and 3B are diagrammatic views showing the transfer aid of Figure 1 in use during the transfer of a patient from one position to another; and Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2 showing an alternative embodiment of the handle for the aid of Figures 1 and 2.

With reference to the drawings a transfer aid is shown generally indicated 10. The aid 10 comprises a rectangular sheet 11 of fabric folded on itself so that two opposite edges overlap at 12 and are seamed together to form an open-ended tube. The seam 12 is of minimum thickness so as not to obstruct the movement of the sheet material in use. The seam is stitched with NYLON thread having a breaking strain of 5kg.

The aid 10 is shown in its condition of use in which the tube is collapsed, with an upper half-sheet lla of the fabric lying on a lower half-sheet llb, the two layers being joined at fold lines llc, wild. The fabric constituting the sheet 11 is an extremely fine, plainweave NYLON fabric, having a weight of 290g per square metre so as to be substantially waterproof but extremely flexible. One surface of the fabric, which constitutes the inner surface of the tube, also has a low-friction coating of a silicone elastomer so that the two surfaces of the sheet 11 have different coefficients of friction and the upper half-sheet lla will slide readily on the lower half-sheet llb. The coating rate is 60g per square metre.

The aid 10 further includes two 25mm wide, NYLON edging tapes 13 attached to the outer face of the sheet 11 so as completely to surround the respective open ends of the tube. The tapes 13 are seamed to the sheet 11 by longitudinal lines of stitching indicated by the broken lines 15 in Figure 2. The ends of the tapes 13 are butted together at 14, not overlapped which would form local regions of increased thickness and rigidity along the edges. Moreover, the butted ends 14 of the tapes 13 are spaced from the seam 12 in the sheet 11 so as to minimise any further increase in the rigidity of the sheet at this point and to enhance the overall robustness of the aid. Additional strengthening stitches adjacent the ends 14 and along the tape 13 are not shown.

With reference particularly to Figure 2, it is seen that the longitudinal stitching 15 is not continuous around the tube but each tape 13 has a portion indicated 16 which is not stitched to the sheet 11. The portion 16 is of sufficient length to be gripped by a hand inserted between the tape portion 16 and the adjacent sheet 11 and this constitutes a handgrip of the aid 10. Additional stitching 17 is formed transverse the tape 13 adjacent the handgrip 16 for strengthening purposes.

It should be noted that, in the drawings, the spacing between the handgrip portion 16 and the sheet 11 has been exaggerated for clarity of explanation. In practice, when the sheet 11 is flat, the handgrip portion 16 is flush with it, it being necessary to flex both the sheet 11 and the handgrip 16 to allow a hand to be inserted between them. This prevents any folds or pleats forming in the handgrip portion 16 which would hinder the sliding of the tube 11. In addition, each tape 13 is shown with only one handgrip portion 16 but several may be provided spaced circumferentially around the tube.

The dimensions of the aid 10 may be chosen to accord with any particular requirement.

With reference now to Figure 3 of the drawings, this shows an aid similar to the aid 10 of Figures 1 and 2 in use; the same reference numerals are therefore used for similar features.

In Figure 3A the aid 10 is shown on a bed B and a patient P has been manoeuvred into a position in which he is sitting on the doubled tubular fabric 11 with his legs arched and is to be moved back up the bed, into the position shown in Figure 3B, in which he can lean against pillows C propped up against the bedhead (not shown).

The aid 10 is arranged with the two handgrips 16 formed by the edge tapes 13 on the upper surface of the folded sheet 11 near the fold line indicated 11C which is beneath the patient's thighs.

Two nurses N have placed themselves one on each side of the patient facing in the same direction as him and partly kneeling on the bed. In this position they can support the patient with one arm through his arm and, by leaning forward, can both grasp one of the handgrips i6.

The nurses N now, while continuing to support the patient, pull the handgrips 16 in a direction as shown by the arrow A perpendicular to the tube axis X-X. This slides the upper half-sheet Ila on the lower half-sheet 11b making the entire aid move along the bed B in the direction of the arrow A and carrying the patient P with it, to the position shown in Figure 3B in which he is sitting against the pillows C with his legs stretched.

It will be appreciated that this movement has been achieved without the need for the nurses to support the full weight of the patient's body.

With reference to Figure 4 of the drawings, this shows an aid generally indicated 20 with a variant of the handgrip of the aid 10 of Figures 1 and 2. The aid 20 comprises a folded sheet 21 of the same material as the sheet 11 of the aid 10 and seamed into a tube in the same manner (not shown). The sheet 21 has two tapes 22 (only one shown), similar to the tapes 13 and not described here in detail, seamed around its edges.

The difference between this embodiment and that of Figures 1 and 2 is that the tapes 22 are merely strengthening tapes and are sewn down fully to the sheet 21 by seam lines 23 and two additional lengths of tape 30 (only one shown) are sewn, one over each tape 22, to form the handles. The two tape handles 30 are attached in similar positions to the handles 16 of Figure 1 and are sewn down at their ends as shown-by seam lines 31, their central portions 30a being free to constitute the handgrips.

It is found that the additional bulk provided by the extra tapes 30 does not hinder the rolling/sliding movement of the aid 20 in use particularly because only two handles 30 are provided and these remain on the upper surface of the aid 21, there being no need for them to pass to the underside thereof, in use.

Claims (9)

1. A transfer aid particularly for use in repositioning patients, comprising an open-ended tube of flexible sheet material with a low-friction internal surface which dan be collapsed on itself to form two layers, one superposed on the other, the aid including at least one handgrip attached to the sheet material and usable to slide the upper layer, and a patient supported thereon, on the lower layer in a direction generally perpendicular to the tube axis such that the upper layer progressively transfers to the lower position and the patient is simultaneously transported linearly from one position to another.

2. A transfer aid as claimed in Claim 1, in which the tube is a cylindrical tube, open at both ends, and in which the tube has a pair of handgrips, one at or adjacent each end edge of the tube.

3. A transfer aid as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which each handgrip is attached to the sheet material by, or through, a flat, flexible portion thereof which is superposed on, or coplanar with, the sheet material.

4. A transfer aid as claimed in Claim 3, in which the or each handgrip comprises part of an elongate tape member superposed along an edge portion of the sheet material and secured to the sheet material except along a portion thereof constituting the handgrip, the grip being able to lie flat against the sheet when not in use.

5. A transfer aid as claimed in Claim 4, in which the elongate tape member surrounds the circumferential edge of the sheet material.

6. A transfer aid as claimed in Claim 4, in which the or each handgrip comprises a free portion of an individual tape member, substantially shorter than the tube circumference

7. A transfer aid as claimed in any one of Claims 3 to 6, in which the handgrip is attached to the fabric by stitching.

8. A transfer aid substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

9. A transfer aid particularly for use in repositioning patients, comprising a sheet of flexible material with differential coefficients of friction on its two surfaces formed into an open-ended tube such that the internal surface has the lower coefficient of friction and, when the tube is collapsed to form two layers in contact with each other, the two layers can slide and roll easily in relation to each other and a patient supported on an upper layer of the tube in use can be repositioned by movement with the upper layer on the lower layer in a direction generally perpendicular to the tube axis.