THE state's biggest hospital has built special rooms catering for people weighing up to 500kg to prepare for a rise in obese patients.
The rooms at Liverpool Hospital feature overhead pulleys that can turn and lift people weighing up to 500kg, beds for people weighing up to 450kg, and strengthened armchairs for their family members, who are often also morbidly obese.
The hospital has also stocked up on bariatric commodes for the toilet, reinforced wheelchairs and a special shuttle - similar to a golf buggy - so obese patients can move around the hospital.
The weight capacity of the average bed has also been lifted from 250kg to 300kg.
Michelle Nicholson, the clinical resources nurse manager at Liverpool Hospital, said the 39 bariatric bed spaces in 18 rooms were built as part of the redevelopment in 2011.
We took that into consideration when we were planning the redevelopment, as we did get a lot of bariatric patients and we've run into difficulties nursing them," Ms Nicholson said. "There were some beds in some of our old buildings that couldn't go through doorways, so that meant the patient couldn't go into that ward. The new beds get used by non-bariatric patients if the ward is full."
Injuries to nurses have decreased since the equipment was introduced.
"I've looked after patients between 300kg and 350kg," Ms Nicholson said. "Looking after them is a job in itself.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/giant-chairs-a-load-off-nurses-backs/story-e6freuy9-1226593939...
