Grab Rail for profiling bed headboard
A grab rail clamped on the top of the headboard of a Bradshaw bariatric profiling bed, without having to modify or mark the bed.
The Challenge
The client has MS. When in his existing bed, he finds it necessary to pull on the metal lattice of the headboard to adjust his position for comfort. For future therapy he has been issued with a Bradshaw profiling bed. Unfortunately this bed has a plain headboard, with no features at all to pull on.
The solution
The headboard has thin front and back panels (covering the bedroom metal frame) but strong posts at the sides and a firm top rail. Two lengths of 12mm-thick 68mm-wide rounded architrave battens were cut to a length to run between the two end posts. The client selected a commercially available 800mm-long black grab rail, to be mounted centrally on the front batten. The grab rail has to be very near the top of the headboard because of the rising head part of the profiling bed. A space of 100m is available.
Two pairs of 4mm-thick painted steel adjustable U-clamp brackets were sourced from Amazon. Clamps are fitted at each end to clamp onto the posts, and at the end-points of the grab rail mounts.
M8 bolts strongly fix the grab rail – through the front batten – to the U-clamps. M5 bolts (with dome nuts) fix the batten to the end clamps. The clamps are tightened down onto the sides of the top of the headboard using the provided M6 bolts. Neoprene sheeting is used to cushion the headboard from the clamps.
A second batten is fitted on the top face, to provide a customisable surface for a variety of hooks and fixings for other items the client would benefit from, such as an iPad mounting arm.
The benefit
The new clamped-on grab rail allows the client to benefit from the new features of the profiling bed while still being able to manoeuvre himself when he needs to. And to fit whatever else he wants around his headboard without modifying the provided bed.
The client commented “the support bar that Clive from REMAP designed and custom-built for me is perfect for my needs. I have multiple sclerosis and required a bar attached to my orthopaedic bed without drilling into it. The bar clamps securely, allowing me more support when there, which let’s me move myself independently. Thank you.”
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