Procedure and treatment chairs globally are available in a huge range of styles and configurations.

They are available in basic box models with a limited flexibility of configurations or accessories, up to complex customized designs that deliver tailor-built efficiency and ensure operator ease.

With all that in mind, there’s no question as to why some confusion can occur when deciding on the most suitable model for your facility and staff.

This article will hopefully give you the ultimate checklist to complete and once you’ve done so, with your department's needs in mind, can be used to suggest a procedure chair suited to your requirements.

Firstly, learn the requirements.

It is important to understand what best suits the requirements of specific departmental uses. A well designed and configured procedure chair can help to increase department efficiency, reduce long term operating costs and benefit both staff and patient safety. A badly configured or wrongly utilized procedure chair could hinder your department’s success factors. 

Some of the potential problems for departments could be caused by;

• The effective size of the chair
• The level of patient comfort and risk of harm through inadequate support surfaces
• The height adjustment being too high or low for either the patient and medical staff
• Side Rails that impede staff access during critical procedure work
• Poorly positioned accessories that create unnecessary staff movement
• Manual operation over against power assisted technology

Secondly, conduct a study.

Look into how your department functions, considering patient throughput times, product usage pattern and movement of both patients and staff. Consider what type of procedure chair may fit best with your current requirements. Have a creative session with your team to uncover if changes in your process, with the right equipment, may improve your operational efficiency, staff workload or safety outcomes. 

Some of the features to think about are;

• The width of the patient platform
• The safe working load of the product based on your patient type
• The type of mattress – what type of patient (age, size, conditions etc) and how much time they may need to be supported by it
• The type of side rails that may work best for adequate patient access and care
• If manual hydraulic functionality or touch button electric operation is best for you
• The optimum patient platform height adjustment range
• The castor wheel style and ease of maneuverability
• The types of accessories that will facilitate and streamline your processes
• After Sales service and speed of assistance, ensuring that your product stays in service
• Ongoing maintenance and spare parts - how this may affect your operating budget long term

Lastly, scope out potential candidates.

Once a vision starts to form and you have a clear picture of the requirements and operations you need the chair to accomplish you can start to research potential options that can achieve those things.

Or, you can bring your checklist to our team and we can suggest things like accessories, operation, performance, aesthetics and more to create your desired product!