White Paper: Evidence-Based Pressure Injury Prevention
Explore what current clinical evidence reveals and examine how evidence-based mattress engineering and design can contribute to a safer care environment.
Suggestions for procurement documents
A smart checklist for procuring mattresses with a focus on pressure relief.
Procurement is often reduced to a chase for the lowest price tag, which ultimately means turning a blind eye to reality. If a mattress causes a pressure ulcer, requires daily laundering, or must be discarded prematurely, the "cheap" choice quickly becomes a major financial loss. Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is about focusing on the bottom line, not the initial price tag.
In the 1970s, centralized bedding facilities required staff to struggle with washing, making, and transporting mattresses in endless cycles. While healthcare has come a long way since then, significant hidden costs still lurk in daily operations today.
By shifting the focus from purchase price to Life Cycle Cost (LCC), we can free up the resources that are genuinely needed in frontline healthcare.
Many choose mattresses with removable covers out of habit, yet the operational costs are rarely calculated. As early as 1984, SPRI's report demonstrated that disposable materials and removable covers generate substantial hidden costs [1].
Mattresses with a Lentex surface layer are instead cleaned and disinfected directly on-site. Because no machine laundering is required, staff avoid heavy lifting and the handling of contaminated covers. This ensures a smoother workflow and reduces wear and tear on both materials and personnel.
A product that fails to perform properly quickly becomes a financial liability. Pressure ulcers cause immense human suffering while leading to skyrocketing healthcare costs.
Hard facts show how quickly these costs escalate:
Choosing a mattress with documented pressure redistribution according to the SS 876 00 13 standard is therefore not an ordinary expense. It is a strategic investment with enormous savings potential the moment the risk of a single pressure ulcer is reduced [5].
Quality costs more on day one, yet considerably less on day one thousand. If a mattress lasts five years instead of four, this effectively reduces the annual cost by 25%.
To verify that the material retains its pressure-redistributing properties over time, the mattresses are tested at RISE in accordance with current standards for exceptionally high demands, where they are subjected to as many as 130,000 cycles [5].
Strategically choosing proven quality over cheap upfront purchases is the simplest and most effective way to reduce your long-term budget.
Nearly a third of the traditional rental cost for a mattress often consists of pure transport fees. The conventional "Just-in-time" system—where trucks are forced to make urgent deliveries of single products as soon as a need arises—represents significant economic and environmental waste.
Through the Pick ’n’ Go system, the buffer stock is instead moved directly to your facility. You always have mattresses ready on-site, pay only when they are actually put into use, and thereby slash transport costs.
Ensure you don't buy a pig in a poke. Here are the factors that distinguish a smart investment from an expensive lesson:
Evidence-based pest control
Gain deeper insight into life-saving technology. In this White Paper, we review clinical studies and provide you with a smart checklist to use when procuring pressure-relieving mattresses.
Suggestions for procurement documents
A smart checklist for procuring mattresses with a focus on pressure relief.