Mattress Damage and Contamination
Hospital mattresses are one of the highest touch-points in the patient environment. Frequently touched treatment surfaces are susceptible to contamination and damage, which is why mattress maintenance is important to protect the safety of patients and staff. However, compromised mattresses are becoming a significant problem in healthcare.
A recent article discusses a complaint filed by the Washington State Nurses Association with the Washington State Department of Health1. The complaint states, “compromised mattresses in hospitals pose a potential biohazard risk to patients.” Labor and Delivery nurses from St. Joseph’s Medical Center noticed the ingress of bodily fluids into mattresses on the unit, creating reservoirs of microbes that could result in cross-contamination of pathogens among patients.
Once a mattress cover is damaged, bodily fluids and pathogens can enter the mattress through the damaged surface and penetrate the mattress core. The mattress core cannot be effectively cleaned and, as per The Joint Commission guidelines, the cover must be fully intact to be cleanable. Because of this, damaged mattresses must be taken out of service to prevent the spread of Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) to patients and staff.
Removing mattresses from service poses another problem altogether: in a busy healthcare environment, removing essential medical equipment can compromise patient care and limit the number of patients that can be treated.
In an article published by the Irish Examiner in January 2023, Daniel McConnell documents this problem well2. In the first nine days of January, more than 530 patients waited for a hospital bed in Ireland due to shortages related to damaged hospital beds and contaminated surfaces. Over a nine-day period, 858 mattresses were removed from service, and as many as 18 hospital beds were removed from service each day.
The Solution
To mitigate the problems associated with damaged mattresses, healthcare facilities can implement surface repair to keep hospital beds operational while complying with IP&C protocols. When used correctly, CleanPatch 1. Restores damaged surfaces to prevent fluid ingress, 2. Ensures mattress covers are fully cleanable, 3. Keeps hospital beds in service and, most importantly, 4. Supports patient safety by reducing cross-contamination of pathogens and the spread of HAIs.
References
1Lybert, L. (2022, December 1). A mattress is an assembly: Complaints of fluid-leaking patient mattresses. Healthcare Surfaces Institute. https://www.healthcaresurfacesinstitute.org/a-mattress-is-an-assembly-complaints-of-fluid-leaking-patient-mattresses/
2McConnell, D. (2023, January 10). More than 800 hospital beds unavailable in first nine days of 2023. Irish Examiner. https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41045090.html