The risks of an inaccurate weight (White Paper)
According to NICE guidelines, patients admitted to hospital should have “a weight on admission and then a weekly weight.”
However, many patients do not have an accurate weight recording.
According to Hilmer, as many as 30% of patients are not weighed at all - and many patients, especially immobile patients, have their weight estimated.
Current solutions for weighing immobile patients are time-consuming and cumbersome, according to former NHS nurse and Patient Transfer Scale inventor, Gillian Taylor. But what are the issues with weighing immobile patients, and why should estimations of weight be avoided? Our new white paper, which can be downloaded below, explains.
Issues with weighing immobile patients
According to Darnis et al, “An assessment of body weight is required for calculation of drug doses.” However, because of issues such as immobility, trauma and burns victims’ weights are sometimes estimated.
“Weight and height are rarely available when patients are admitted to the ICU. Since critically ill patients frequently arrive unconscious or otherwise incapacitated, accurate measurements of weight and height are often difficult to obtain.”
A study by Maskin found weight estimation to be flawed.
“Errors greater than 20% in a patient’s actual and predicted weight were observed in 15% and 24% of cases.
“Estimated body weight of critically ill patients has implications for drug and respiratory therapy and should be used with caution.”
The Patient Transfer Scale
The Patient Transfer Scale is a revolutionary solution that makes weighing immobile patients easier.
The PTS is designed to be used as part of an already existing procedure - lateral transfer of a patient from trolley to bed or bed to bed. It helps reduce door to needle time, and medication or treatment can be administered faster and with greater confidence.
You can find out more about the Patient Transfer Scale by visiting the product page here.