Why is Anti Slip Fabric a Requirement in Hospitals?

Anti slip fabric is a crucial component of the everyday management of hospitals and other types of medical settings. Anti slip measures help to prevent patients, visitors, and staff from falling over and experiencing injuries. In busy hospital settings, where there are frequent spillages of liquid, wet cleaning, and cart and wheeled bed traffic along busy corridors, it’s important to have preventative measures in place to keep people safe. This means the addition of anti slip flooring and anti slip fabric to be used in items and functional materials, including the movement and handling of patients.

For hospitals, it is important to work with suppliers that can provide the highest quality, durable anti slip fabric to help protect patients, visitors, and hospital workers alike. Anti slip fabric is used to keep patients stable, to prevent slips that can cause injuries, but also to provide better care and comfort when performing patient handling procedures or moving patients from one location to another around a hospital. This includes the use of specialist footwear, underlays to mattresses, cushions for wheelchairs, and positioning and movement aids.

What are the benefits of anti slip fabric in hospitals?

There are key benefits to the use of anti slip fabrics across a range of areas in a hospital:

Safety benefits of anti slip fabric

The use of anti slip fabric helps to keep patients safe as it is used on mattresses, chairs, and hospital beds that might otherwise be slippery. The characteristics include the reduction of shear forces, where a patient’s skin may drag against an underlying sheet or surface. This helps to reduce instances of bedsores. Anti slip fabric also provides extra comfort and confidence for patients during rehabilitation, an extra level of support during physical therapy.

Maintenance features

Anti slip fabrics are coated or textured using specialist silicone, rubber, and other coatings that increase positive friction. They are engineered to provide an extra layer of protection that boosts sanitisation, maintaining high levels of grip whilst minimising the transfer of infection.

How does anti slip fabric work?

Anti slip fabric isn’t solely about preventing people from accidents; it’s also got to meet the right levels of comfort for patients and medical professionals. Injuries during manual handling can cost the NHS a lot of money in personal injury claims, so it’s important to get it right on that front, but the concern for patient care is paramount.

The physical friction of anti slip fabric is caused by the asperity of the surface, where the unevenness helps the fabric to grip the asperities on the other surface. Alongside this, the adhesive friction is caused by the surface of the fabric coming into contact with the surface it is rubbing up against.

Finding the right anti slip fabrics

It’s important to find anti slip fabric that has a considered, layered construction to offer the perfect balance between anti slip properties and the comfort of the patient. Tailored, anti slip fabrics can provide the expert design that meets strict specifications. This ensures that patients are comfortable and looked after, and that workers are safe when performing manual handling of patients around the hospital. Safety and comfort are key when it comes to anti slip fabrics in hospitals; ensure that you have trust in your supplier.