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Part No 1143214 9 ICCG Bed Rails
Meeting Patients' Needs for Safety
Most patients can be in bed safely without bed rails. Consider the following:
• Use beds that can be raised and lowered close to the floor to accommodate both patient
and health care worker needs.
• Keep the bed in the lowest position with wheels locked.
• When the patient is at risk of falling out of bed, place mats next to the bed, as long as
this does not create a greater risk of accident.
• Use transfer or mobility aids.
• Monitor patients frequently.
• Anticipate the reasons patients get out of bed such as hunger, thirst, going to the
bathroom, restlessness and pain; meet these needs by offering food and fluids,
scheduling ample toileting, and providing calming interventions and pain relief.
When bed rails are used, perform an on-going assessment of the patient’s physical and
mental status; closely monitor high-risk patients. Consider the following:
• Lower one or more sections of the bed rail, such as the foot rail.
• Use a proper size mattress or mattress with raised foam edges to prevent patients from
being trapped between the mattress and rail.
• Reduce the gaps between the mattress and side rails.
Which Ways of Reducing Risks are Best?
A process that requires ongoing patient evaluation and monitoring will result in
optimizing bed safety. Many patients go through a period of adjustment to become
comfortable with new options. Patients and their families should talk to their health care
planning team to find out which options are best for them.
Patient or Family Concerns About Bed Rail Use
If patients or family ask about using bed rails, health care providers should:
• Encourage patients or family to talk to their health care planning team to determine
whether or not bed rails are indicated.
• Reassure patients and their families that in many cases the patient can sleep safely
without bed rails.
• Reassess the need for using bed rails on a frequent, regular basis.
To report an adverse event or medical device problem, please call FDA’s MedWatch
Reporting Program at 1-800-FDA-1088.
For additional copies of the brochure, see the FDA’s website at
http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/beds/
For more information about this brochure, contact Beryl Goldman at 610-388-5580 or by
e-mail at bgoldman@kcorp.kendal.org. She has volunteered to answer questions.
For information regarding a specific hospital bed, contact the bed manufacturer directly.