General Question

talljasperman's avatar

How does a hospital cope with very big and tall?

Asked by talljasperman (21916points) July 26th, 2014

I went for a procedure at a hospital and I barely fit on the bed. Are hospitals required to have at least one big bed/stretcher?

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7 Answers

Coloma's avatar

Probably the same way they cope with the very short and small. haha
I’m sure they have some sort of methods, maybe cribs and extra long beds in the basement.

Jonesn4burgers's avatar

I have seen some scrawny looking nurses show some serious strength.

chyna's avatar

Yes hospitals do have a couple of bigger beds for big and tall people. Apparently it is labor intensive to get them put together so if you are just there for a procedure and not staying overnight, they probably won’t get that bed for you.

FireMadeFlesh's avatar

Hospitals I have worked in have had wider beds for obese patients, and longer beds for tall patients. I would expect a person would need to be well over 200cm before they would pose an issue. Obesity is much harder to deal with, as some equipment can only handle up to 180kg, and OH&S stops many of us from lifting any more than 20–30kg.

JLeslie's avatar

It can be a real problem. Transferring patients from one sort of bed to another is a real problem for hospital workers. I know more than one nurse who has hurt their wrists or back having to move patients.

seekingwolf's avatar

When you say “barely fit” do you mean because you’re too tall or too obese? I can’t tell.

Anyway, I work in a hospital. We order specialty beds. I play a part in that too. Any patient who is taller than 6’5’’ usually is going to need a special bed that can be stretched out at the push of a button.

In my hospital, the regular beds support up to 500 lb. But most people getting up to that weight are rather wide and need a bariatric bed that is wider to accommodate their girth. Really depends on the person. I’ve heard of 400 lb people feeling comfortable in the regular beds but a very short 300 lb person needs a bariatric bed because their body is just too wide for the regular ones. It sort of depends.

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