Mobility Equipment - Advice - Transportation

As the name suggests, the "bolt-on" cot side is attached to a bed by means of two brackets which are bolted on to the side of the bed frame.

The cot side relies solely on the bolts for its strength and support and is thus not as strong as the Under-Bed cot side arrangement below.

The cot side itself is basically tubular, and the tube ends locate into the fixed brackets on the bed frame. Small sprung bars lock the tube ends of the side into the brackets. The cot side is quickly and easily removed from the brackets by pulling the bars and lifting the side clear out of the brackets. Because of its simple fixings, it is the only cot side which is suitable for use with beds which are fitted to Motorised Bedlifters.

The second type of cot side is similar to the first, but significantly more sturdy, relying on an under-bed bracket fixing arrangement for its support.

The tubular cot side locates into the bracket in a similar fashion to the bolt-on type, but its bracket is mounted under the bed across both sides of the bed frame, providing much greater support for the cot side as any stress placed upon it is transferred through the side onto the bracket and then upwards against the full weight of the bed - the weight of the user lying on the bed only assists the security of the cot side.

Please note: under-bed bracket fitting cot-sides cannot be fitted to a bed when used with a bedlifter - only Bolt-on cot sides are suitable for the bedlifter application.

The motorised bed-lifter is a popular item in our range for users who experience difficulty getting into or out of bed, or who require frequent nursing or other caring assistance, where its use helps to prevent back injury to carers who are otherwise faced with assisting their patients at an uncomfortable level. The lifter is even engineered to swing away from the wall at the head-end of the bed as it is being raised in order to prevent scuffing and damage to wallpaper/wall surfaces while in use.

The bed-lifter consists of a rugged metal frame and powerful motor to raise the top surface of a mattress (based on a standard specification bedlifter) to a maximum height of approximately 36" (78 cm) above floor level.

Bed-lifters are provided as standard with 5" (12.5 cm) lockable castors which allow sufficient clearance for virtually all types of hoists and patient lifters which are currently available. The lowest bed height (top surface of mattress) which is attainable with the standard motorised bed-lifter is approximately 24" (61 cm) above floor level; this can be lowered significantly if castors are replaced with rubber feet and special brackets are fitted; further height reductions are possible by reducing the thickness of mattresses in appropriate cases.

The motorised bed-lifter can be supplied at the same time you order one of our Relaxomatic beds, but you do not have to purchase these items together: bed-lifters can always be added to Relaxomatic beds at a later date should the need arise. Please note that motorised bed-lifters are only suitable for use with Relaxomatic beds, for which they are specially manufactured.

Standard motorised bedlifters can support a weight of 20 stone / 127 kg. Heavy duty bedlifters are available (in both single and double sizes) which can support a weight of up to 30 stone/ 190.5 kg.

Our complete single bed packages consist of two essential parts - one upholstered bed base unit with built-in motorised adjustable wooden-slatted action (upon which the mattress sits) and one mattress, to complete a fully functional unit.

Single Relaxomatic beds are available in an extensive selection of width, length and height dimensions - see Bed Measurements for full information on sizes.

It should be noted that our 4’6" bed constitutes both our largest standard single bed. The key point to remember is that all of the listed single sizes - including our 4’6" bed - feature one single moving action (not suitable for two people). For bed arrangements with two single actions across the width of the bed please see the section on Double bed packages, immediately below.

4’6" (135cm) is the normal width of a double bed which - as explained above - we offer as our largest regular "single" action size. It should be borne in mind however, that where a bed is to accommodate two individuals, one large adjustable action will not usually be a suitable option. This is because the selected adjusted position (whether upper body or lower body, or both) is not likely to be comfortable for both people at the same time.

Our customers accordingly customarily opt for our CLIP-TOGETHER ARRANGEMENT (pictured immediately above) which enables two Relaxomatic single beds (of whatever size) to be joined firmly together side by side (metal U-shaped push-on clips lock the bases together underneath the beds and out of sight) to make what is effectively a double bed. Beds that are clipped together have the added advantage that they can subsequently be separated and used as single beds if desired.

Alternatively, another popular choice is our DUAL BED (pictured immediately above) where two separate single adjustable actions are built into one double-bed base unit, with each action supporting its own mattress and allowing independent use of the actions by two individuals (each with their own control handset) whilst otherwise maintaining all the general characteristics of a normal double bed.

Double and Dual Relaxomatic beds are available in a wide variety of width, length and height dimensions - see Bed Measurements for full information on sizes.

This mattress is designed specifically for use with our Relaxomatic adjustable beds and is manufactured to include the best industry standard features:

1.8 mm gauge individually pocketed springs (to give an idea, a 3’0" (95 cm) wide mattress of regular length contains 14 rows of 33 springs - giving an interior total of 462 springs) all of which are specially configured to enable easy flexing of the mattress;

• Springs are held together with metal hog clips and encased in double pockets to provide added strength, long-life and comfort as well as to ensure that the springs do not entwine together when the mattress is being flexed;
• Springs are sandwiched between double thicknesses of rich compressed wool sheeting and an additional luxury Kashmir wool outer layer, the whole construction being finished in a superior quality damask woven outer surface fabric.

To ensure even wear and the longest life for our pocket sprung mattresses we recommend that our mattresses are turned, that is either inverted and/or laterally rotated 180°, at regular intervals - we suggest every four months - just like conventional mattresses.

Although opinions on firmness are necessarily subjective, most people agree that our Balmoral Luxury Pocket Sprung Mattresses can fairly be described as 'medium firm'.

* As with all our products, if your particular needs are outside the above specifications, please contact us and we will do all we can to provide you with the specification you in fact require - for examples, we have in the past supplied hypo-allergenic and increased fire retardancy (CRIB 5 - local authority standard) pocket sprung mattresses

• High restitution, a property of the foam which returns the mattress to its starting shape after compression giving excellent long-life shape retention qualities with very little change over very long periods of heavy usage; and
• Exceptionally high resistance to deterioration through moisture.

To ensure even wear and the longest life for our Reflex ® foam mattresses we recommend that our mattresses are turned, that is either inverted and/or laterally rotated 180°, at regular intervals - we suggest every four months - just like conventional mattresses.

Our Reflex ® Foam mattresses are somewhat firmer than our pocket sprung mattresses (which we treat as the 'medium-firm' benchmark).

Reflex ® Foam mattresses can also be produced for heavier users (different grades up to 30 stone) if required.