While hospital beds are just part of the hospital furniture, their design, availability and even their cleanliness, have been concerns that directly affected patient care since the Royal Adelaide Hospital opened in 1842.
The Black Bed Era
The first hospital beds used at the Adelaide Hospital were known colloquially as ‘Black beds’. These were low black-painted iron frames topped with wire-sprung mattresses. After just a few years of use, the wire springs would sag, making them very uncomfortable. However, they still remained in service for decades.
By the 1930s, the hospital had transitioned to newer white-painted bed frames, known as ‘white beds’. However, demand often outpaced supply. When all white beds were in use (a frequent occurrence) the old black beds were brought out of storage to accommodate additional patients.
On days when emergency cases were admitted to the wards, porters wheeled in ‘black beds’ from a reserve store to accommodate the extra patients. When four or five black beds filled the space in the middle of a ward little space remained for the nurses to move between them.
Joan Durdin, Eleven Thousand Nurses, 1999
The number of black beds in use became an unofficial measure of how overcrowded and busy the ward was.
Despite being well past their prime, black beds had the advantage that they were lightweight and easy to move. When they were no longer suitable for patient use, many were repurposed and ended up in Nurses Home and were used by the nurses.
Hospital Beds Bought by the Community
By the late 19th century, recognising the need for better patient support and likely due to limited government resources, communities began raising money to buy hospital beds. In 1895, the first Hospital Bed Fund was launched at Port Augusta Hospital. The idea quickly gained momentum, with fundraising efforts spreading across South Australia, including the Adelaide Hospital Bed Fund.
Bed Safety Under Scrutiny
After World War II, attention turned to the quality and safety of hospital equipment. In May 1947, the Royal Adelaide Hospital’s Lay Superintendent reported to the Hospital Board a serious flaw in the design of hospital beds. Breakages at the bed lugs were occurring, with over 50 incidents within just six months. An alarming case saw a bed break while a patient was being transported to x-ray, though thankfully without injury. The hospital requested urgent action from the Architect-in-Chief’s Department to strengthen the beds.
The Lay Superintendent reported concern regarding an apparent weakness in the design of the hospital beds … He described an incident which occurred on Friday last, when breakages occurred in the lugs of a bed whilst a patient was being carried to the X-Ray Departmentt; fortunately, the patient suffered no harm as a result of the occurrence. To be forwarded to the Architect-in-Chief, for attention from the point of view of breakages … asking that investigation be made with regard to the possibility of strengthening this particular point of all the beds at present in the hospital.
Royal Adelaide Hospital Board Minutes, 7 May 1947
Concerns also extended beyond the beds themselves to the bedding on top. In 1958, a switch from woollen to cotton blankets was undertaken at Royal Adelaide Hospital to help minimise cross infection risks.
Hospital Bed Planning for the Future
Royal Adelaide Hospital underwent a major redevelopment during the 1960s and 1970s, where the hospital began rethinking the design of its equipment.
In June 1961, the Board of Management displayed a selection of new bed prototypes, bedsteads, overbed tables and bedside lockers for staff feedback. Their goal was to identify the basic features needed in a modern hospital bed, and to consider optional attachments that could improve patient care.
The Board is anxious to establish the basic features which should be provided for in a standard bedstead, and the special features which could be provided for by attachments as required.
Internal Hospital Memorandum, 17 June 1961
Working with the South Australian Public Buildings Department, the hospital introduced a new generation of beds made from tubular steel. Locally manufactured, these beds were robust, hygienic and flexible. Features included:
- Detachable stainless steel drip rods
- Inbuilt towel rails
- Orthopaedic frames
- Self-raising devices
- Bedside safety rails
- Easily attachable overbed tables.
Today
Today, the Royal Adelaide Hospital uses a wide range of modern beds to meet the needs of diverse patients. These include manual, semi-electric and fully electric beds, as well as specialised options like bariatric and ICU beds. A significant leap forward from the infamous early Adelaide Hospital black beds.
Written by Margot Way, CALHN Health Museum