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MANUFACTURING » Howard Wright
Volume 16 | Issue 3
Business North
Revolutionary new bed unveiled Karen Phelps Howard Wright Ltd has launched a new ward bed, which could revolutionise patient care and safety, says company chief executive Bruce Moller. The M10 complies with the most demanding international standards and was developed to address three key areas of concern for the industry: patient falls, pressure injuries and cross infection. Bruce says the brief given to the Howard Wright research and development team was to design the safest bed the company had ever produced. A great deal of time was spent liaising with customers to really understand the issues involved in this aspect of patient care and to see what the specific requirements were the bed should meet. Bruce says the M10 includes new technology to address each of the key concerns. New split safety sides are attached to the bed frame and the head end safety sides providing a reliable support aid for patients getting on or off the bed to prevent patient falls. The low height of 340mm (with 150mm dual wheel castors) allows patients to put their feet flat and securely on the floor. An underbed light helps to aid patients at night. Integrated patient controls are located on the inside of the head end safety side panels, easily accessible by patients lying either flat or sitting upright without compromising their stability in bed. All electric functions can also be locked to prevent unintended bed movement. Function buttons also allow the bed to automatically contour into a comfortable 30°/30°, 30°or 45° and chair position. Bruce says that the 30°/30° button ensures that any profiling of the platform will not exceed the maximum recommended contoured position for reduction of pressure and shear. When lowered, the new safety sides are near flush with the mattress support platform. To prevent cross contamination issues all cleaning areas are accessible, smooth and easy to clean. Removable deck panels and concealed cables enable simple below deck cleaning with the optional linen rack as an extra aid to
The M10 bed complies with the most demanding international standards and was developed to address three key areas of concern for the industry: patient falls, pressure injuries and cross infection.
prevent cross infection, explains Bruce. The M10 is earmarked to go into production in July and Bruce says market reception has been extremely positive. He says the bed has the potential to save the health industry a lot of money by improving patient care and safety. “If a patient falls or suffers from a pressure injury this can cost the health system a lot of money as the patient recovers. ‘By preventing these things occurring in the first place there is a really strong economic argument for investing in the M10.” Howard Wright is a New Zealand owned and operated company that represents true Kiwi innovation. Original founder, Howard Wright, was a motor mechanic who loved to make things
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“If a patient falls or suffers from a pressure injury this can cost the health system a lot of money as the patient recovers. By preventing these things occurring in the first place there is a really strong economic argument for investing in the M10.” and solve problems. In the 1950s Howard started his own engineering business in a small workshop underneath his house in New Plymouth and was one day approached by a nurse from the local hospital to ask if he could make a modern hospital bed. Howard’s hospital beds spread around New Zealand and in the early sixties he took the plunge and opened his first dedicated hospital bed factory. By the 1970’s Howard Wright Limited was making and selling most of the hospital beds in New Zealand, but it was the innovative
M4 bed in 1976 that was the breakthrough internationally. Howard came up with the idea of using remote hydraulic pumping at the foot of the bed to raise the bed surface. That placed Howard Wright at the forefront in hospital bed design and Bruce says the M10 represents the next step in the company’s history of innovation. Bruce says the company’s strong design focus has set it apart and Howard Wright’s design approach centres around three key values: simple (practical design), smart
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