A Guide to Choosing Your Patient Chairs

Healthcare professionals are fighting a daily battle to ensure the environments they care for their patients are clean, safe, and germ free. The current pandemic has created an even bigger emphasis on this and highlighted the importance of having effective infection control measures in place. 

Patient chairs are an important piece of furniture within any healthcare environment but with so many options available, which one do you choose? After many years of working collaboratively with the NHS, we understand the important features to look for in patient seating and have put together this informative guide which will look at the key factors to consider when choosing the appropriate seating for your patients.

Patient Chair Features

1. Comfort Is Key

One of the most important features of patient chairs is comfort. Patients with limited mobility will likely spend a prolonged period of time sitting in their chair, therefore choosing a chair that is ergonomically designed to be the correct size for your patient whilst seated will help ensure they are comfort and well being.

Other features to consider ensuring ultimate comfort include;

-         Pressure reducing seat cushion to help prevent the occurrence of pressure ulcers which can cause great discomfort to your patients.

-         Arm height adjusters aid lateral transfer and ensure flexible positioning for patients

-         High-back and winged chairs to correctly support the patient and achieve a good sitting posture

-         Splayed legs ensure greater stability whilst seated and easy hoist access

Renray has a wide range of ergonomically designed patient seating for ultimate comfort, including the Elite Patient Chair Range which has been specially designed using anthropometric data to achieve a good sitting posture.

2. Cleanability

Patients are vulnerable to picking up infections whilst in hospital, as such, choosing chairs that are easy to clean will help support your staff in their fight against germs and bacteria!

A useful feature to look out for is whether seating is coated with antimicrobial lacquer. Our chair frames are lacquered in an antibacterial solution which has been independently tested to prove that it has a 99% kill rate of bacteria within a 24 hour period.

Also, choose fabrics that are high performance with inherent anti-microbial and anti-fungal protection. This can help prevent hospital-associated infections.

It's also worth considering removable cushions as they can speed up the cleaning process, ensuring a larger area is freely available to clean.

3. Manoeuvrability

Another important feature to consider is how easy is the chair to move and handle?

Staff will need to be able to easily transport the chair so housekeeping wheels are a vital feature.

Patients will often struggle with mobility and could require a sling to transport them from bed to chair. As a result, it is important to consider whether you have enough access to fit a hoist sling. Our Balero Chair Range is an attractive and practical design with a sacral gap allowing for the access required to place a hoist sling. 

Renray’s Patient Chair Ranges

If you're looking to add high-quality patient seating to your healthcare environments, Renray has the solution for you. Find out more about our seating range by viewing individual products online. Alternatively, you can download our brochure, call us on 01606 593 456 or use the online enquiry form.