High Slip And Anti-Slip Manufacture Of Mattresses

Published 9th October 2023

Here at Redwood, we specialise in a wide range of specialist medical textiles for the manufacture of mattresses and other healthcare equipment. We can provide anti-bacterial fabrics, bleach resistant fabrics, stitchable and weldable fabrics, along with many other technical properties.

More importantly, we can combine the features of these medical fabrics to create exactly what you need for any given situation or desired performance standards. One excellent example of this is our range of high slip and anti-slip fabrics used in the manufacture of mattresses, slings and other manual handling equipment.

By combining properties, you can specify products that meet all your requirements, without having to compromise on one set of features to gain access to another.

Safer manual handling

Manual handling is a major issue, not only in the NHS and private healthcare, but also across many other industries. In the NHS alone, manual handling claims cost over £57.1m in the ten years from 2009 to 2019, with the figure for the actual damages paid out almost doubled by the legal costs. Beyond public sector healthcare, private clinics, care homes and nursing homes also face significant costs for manual handling injury claims.

Of course, it’s about more than just protecting your budgets. You also have a moral obligation to protect your patients and staff by providing the correct equipment to create a safe healthcare environment.

Specialist fabrics used in the manufacture of mattresses and manual handling equipment can significantly reduce the incidence of accidents and injuries. This makes manual handling safer for all concerned.

A legal obligation

As explained by the Royal College of Nursing, providing appropriate manual handling equipment is also a legal obligation under the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992. Employers must identify how to reduce the risk of injury and provide appropriate equipment. What’s more, under the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER), this equipment must be safe to use and adequately maintained.

The Redwood team can work with you to ensure that you meet all your legal and regulatory obligations regarding manual handling, with the manufacture of mattresses and other equipment completed to your exact specifications. We can even help you generate those specifications and advise you on the current national standards for your country.

Transfer coated textiles

Our specialist transfer coated textiles can be formulated to either make movement smoother and simpler, or to significantly reduce movement if required. Our expert technical textiles team have unrivalled experience and understanding of technical textiles and can combine different layers to create the precise performance needed.

High slip fabrics are designed to make transfers easier, offering low friction and shear as the patient moves. This reduces stress on the staff moving them and so reduces the risk of injury to all concerned. Anti-slip fabrics are exactly the opposite, and are designed to minimise movement during transfers. These are used in slings and hoists to keep the patient secure and safe as they are lifted and repositioned.

What’s more, high slip and anti-slip fabrics are just the start of it. Within these two ranges, the fabrics can be fine-tuned to take account of variables such as patient weight and health conditions. This allows us to create a range of products, such as glide sheets, that can be selected to more accurately reflect each patient’s needs.

From fabrics to finished products

Redwood can supply high slip and anti-slip technology in whatever way you require. We can provide the fabric for you to use in your own products, or we can offer a full production service for the manufacture of mattresses and bedding, seat pads and wheelchair pads, slings and hoists and other specialist equipment.

For more information on Redwood’s high-tech, high slip and anti-slip fabrics, get in touch with our technical team today. When it comes to manual handling, no one handles your needs better!