As infants grow into children and later into adolescents, their bodies change significantly
For healthcare facilities, this entails assembling a diverse array of specialised paediatric equipment tailored to each stage of development. Choosing the right care equipment for a child can feel overwhelming, especially with the continuous technological advancements in the healthcare industry. With a wide range of equipment available, tailored to support children throughout their growth, seeking expert advice becomes essential. In this guide, our aim is to assist you in finding the perfect paediatric equipment that best suits your clients’ individual needs and requirements.
Sourcing the right paediatric care equipment tailored to adaptability with user’s growth.
As children grow and develop, their needs evolve, necessitating paediatric care equipment that can adapt to these changes over time. When sourcing the right equipment, it’s crucial to prioritise adaptability to accommodate the user’s growth trajectory effectively. Paediatric care equipment tailored for adaptability with the user’s growth encompasses various factors:
- Adjustable Features, such as height settings, seat angles, and weight capacities, are essential considerations. These features ensure that the equipment can accommodate the child’s changing physical dimensions and support their comfort and safety throughout their developmental stages.
- Versatility in design allows the equipment to serve multiple purposes as the child’s needs evolve. For example, a shower chair with removable parts or adjustable configurations can seamlessly transition from providing an easy bathing solution to facilitating independence as the child progresses.
- Durability and Longevity are crucial. Investing in high-quality, durable materials ensures that the equipment can withstand the rigours of long-term use and adapt to the child’s changing needs without compromising safety or performance.
- Customisation Options, such as adding padding, adaptive seating systems, or specialised attachments, allow caregivers to tailor the equipment precisely to the child’s unique needs at different stages of growth.
Sourcing paediatric equipment tailored to adaptability with the user’s growth requires careful consideration of all these factors and more. By highlighting these considerations, caregivers can ensure that the equipment effectively supports the child’s development and enhances their quality of life throughout their journey to adulthood.
Navigating care equipment selection for paediatric users
Seating
Understanding the significance of appropriate seating for a child is paramount. Finding the right seating for a child with specific needs is essential for several reasons:
- Postural Support: Adequate seating offers support, aiding the child in maintaining an upright and stable position, thus enhancing comfort, and enabling better engagement in activities.
- Comfort and Functionality: Optimal seating fosters comfort, vital for concentration and active participation in various tasks.
- Promoting Independence: Tailored seating solutions cater to the child's individual needs, empowering them to perform tasks independently, nurturing their self-reliance.
Hence, the choice of seating significantly impacts the child's daily activities and development. Moreover, having adaptable equipment that accommodates the child's growth proves cost-effective and confidence-boosting, facilitating their ability to comfortably carry out daily tasks and activities.
Saros
Our Kinder Saros seating offers a range of seat cushions to provide necessary pressure relief. Additionally, its adaptable back cushions ensure exceptional comfort and cater to patients with spinal curvature or muscle weakness. These cushions can be easily adjusted to accommodate changing user needs on a daily or weekly basis, ensuring continued support over time.
- Pressure Relief: The range of seat cushions provides necessary pressure relief, which is crucial for children who may be prone to developing pressure sores or discomfort from prolonged sitting.
- Adaptability for Different Needs: The adaptable back cushions cater to patients with spinal curvature or muscle weakness, ensuring that each child receives the necessary support for their specific condition.
- Ease of Adjustment: The ability to easily adjust the cushions to accommodate changing user needs on a daily or weekly basis ensures continued support over time, which is essential as children's needs may evolve.
- Multiple Adjustable Features: The variety of adjustable features such as seat depth and width, arm height, back angle, tilt-in-space, seat cushion, and footboard height make the seat highly customisable to fit the unique requirements of each child. This ensures maximum comfort for longer seating periods.
With multiple adjustable features, such as, seat depth and width, arm height, back angle, tilt-in-space, seat cushion, and footboard height, the seat is able to mould to the child and cater to their need to ensure maximum comfort for a longer seating period of time.
Bathing & Hygiene
Specialist bathing equipment are designed to be adjustable and customisable, so they can be tailored for the unique needs of users. As children grow, it is ideal for their care equipment to also be able to grow with them. For children with disabilities or special needs, having access to equipment that allows them to participate in bathing routines independently can boost their confidence and sense of autonomy.
This independence is not only beneficial for their emotional well-being but also fosters important life skills that will serve them as they grow older.
Turtle Bath Support
The Turtle Bath Support is an excellent piece of bathing equipment, designed to provide children with the necessary support in the bathtub, ensuring a safe and secure bathing environment. Its innovative design makes bath time—a favourite for many children—even more enjoyable and worry-free.
The Turtle's portability is a key feature, as it is both sturdy and lightweight, making it easy to transport. Available in five different sizes, there's an option to suit every need. Manufactured from aluminium to prevent rusting and featuring solid tubed frames, the Turtle is built to withstand the bathing environment without risk of floating or filling with water. Easy to adjust, the Turtle ensures that the child is securely positioned in the bath, reducing the risk of slipping and sliding while providing optimal support for their posture.
Shower Chairs
Selecting the right paediatric shower chair is crucial, especially if it's intended for long-term use. A commode chair must be adjustable to accommodate the child's growth, eliminating the need for costly replacements as they mature.
Our shower chairs are meticulously designed to meet various user needs and can be adjusted in multiple ways, benefiting both the child and their caregivers. For instance, the seat depth can be modified to ensure proper positioning, enhancing pelvic stability. The RAZ ATP shower chair seat aperture can be customised with a front, side, or back opening, and the pelvic tilt is adjustable. Additionally, the shape of the seat accommodates the buttocks.
Furthermore, the IndiGo HTM features a low seat height of 480mm, facilitating access for children and users up to 180kg. This seat height is adjustable to 920mm, and the seat angle can be tilted from -5° to 30° using the hand control. The armrests on the IndiGo HTM are equipped with soft PU foam and quick-release locks, while the adjustable net weave backrest ensures optimal support and a comfortable experience.
Suitable bathing solutions equipped to work for any environment setting
Paediatric shower trolleys are specifically designed to accommodate children in settings where space is limited. The Paediatric Barella, for example, features a smaller chassis and reduced weight capacity while offering a generous platform size, ensuring optimal comfort and stability for young users.
Our Paediatric Barella shower trolley represents a pioneering healthcare solution tailored to the unique needs of individuals requiring care. It is meticulously crafted to cater to children with diverse needs, ensuring they receive the highest level of care during their bathing routine.
Like all Barella shower trolleys, this model boasts a spacious platform, allowing ample room for manoeuvring the child, and features excellent side rails with a height of 270mm, facilitating easy bathing. Additionally, it comes equipped with a raising backrest and has a weight capacity of 150kg.
Looking for a cost-effective shower trolley that rivals the Barella? Enter our Coral Junior shower trolley. Providing children with a secure bathing experience, this versatile trolley is equally suitable for home use or in multi-user facilities. The Coral Junior comes equipped with a range of standard features, including electric and hydraulic height adjustments, a central braking system, safety siderails, and a stable platform. With its combination of affordability and functionality, the Coral Junior is an ideal solution for ensuring the comfort and safety of paediatric patients during bathing routines, whether at home or in a healthcare setting.
Moving & Handling
Ceiling Track Hoist
Tailoring solutions for patient care cannot be overstated, transferring paediatric users’ needs to be handled with care, to ensure the correct level of support and comfort is provided for the duration of the transfer. You need to consider:
- Safety First: When hoisting paediatric patients, there's an increased risk of falls and skin irritation if done improperly. Ensuring secure and reliable transfer methods is crucial to reduce the risk of injuries for both the child and the caregivers.
- Carer Wellbeing: Caring for paediatric users can be physically demanding, especially considering their developing bodies. Ceiling hoists alleviate strain on caregivers by assisting with transfers, reducing the risk of caregiver injuries, and improving overall efficiency.
- Inclusive Healthcare: Investing in ceiling hoists demonstrates a commitment to inclusive care in healthcare facilities. These hoists enable healthcare providers to accommodate a broader range of paediatric patients, promoting a more inclusive and equitable healthcare environment.
Positive paediatric patient outcome: By utilising a ceiling hoist, healthcare providers can ensure that paediatric patients receive prompt and appropriate care tailored to their unique needs. This can result in improved outcomes for paediatric users and greater overall satisfaction with their care.
Incorporating ceiling hoists into healthcare facilities is not just about addressing practical needs; it’s about upholding the values of safety, comfort, inclusivity in healthcare. These hoists are a testament to the industry’s commitment to providing the highest standard of care to all patients.
Slings
When determining the most suitable sling for a paediatric user, it’s essential to evaluate their specific needs and the level of support required. For instance, toileting slings feature minimal material and necessitate individuals to possess good balance. Considering these factors is crucial in choosing the appropriate sling.
These are several other factors to consider when purchasing a sling, including:
- Selecting the right sling size and weight capacity to ensure adequate support and prevent discomfort or strain.
- Assessing the user's developmental stage and physical abilities to promote proper positioning and alignment, including addressing their positioning needs such as head and neck support.
- Ensuring the sling material is comfortable and gentle on the user's skin to prevent irritations or pressure sores.
- Accounting for the environment in which the sling will be used, whether for toileting, standing, or transferring, as different slings have distinct materials and components that may affect support and comfort levels.
Slings are specifically designed to support individuals’ weight and size, prioritising their safety. With a range of sizes available, it’s crucial to select a sling that the user feels comfortable in.
Discover our range of AltoSling options:
To assist in your selection process, try our online product selector tool located on the AltoSlings page.
