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Patient Weighing in Medical or Care Settings

11th October 2018

Patient Weighing in Medical or Care Settings

Medical Scales and weighing of patients – Whilst all medical professionals are aware of the importance of regular and accurate weighing of patients, it could be that this is not carried out as it should, due to a number of factors.

Barriers to compliance of include high staff workload, nature of patients to be weighed, and the availability of appropriate weighing equipment. Measuring patient weight is considered a routine assessment that is frequently delegated to junior staff, ye accurate patient weight is a fundamental part of nutrition assessment,  used to calculate drug dosages and assess fluid balance. It is vital that staff carrying out this measurement are trained and have access to appropriate equipment which should also be regularly calibrated.

So take a moment to think about patients under your care. Is patient weighing being carried out as it should be? If not what are the barriers that are preventing this in your organisation?

The Importance of patient weighing

Recording and documenting an accurate patient body weight is a fundamental part of any nutrition screening, it is also a valuable tool in monitoring fluid balance and calculating medication doses. Nurses or carers are key in ensuring an accurate assessment of body weight, patient risk and ongoing monitoring and intervention of appropriate nutritional care. Weight should not be considered as a one-off observation on admission but must be recognised as an important tool for ongoing assessment throughout the patient’s therapy, carried out by staff who have appropriate knowledge and training.

To see more statistics on the importance of accurate assessments of patient weight click here: https://www.nursingtimes.net/Journals/2014/03/14/v/b/b/190314-Accurate-assessment–of-patient-weight.pdf 

Weighing Options – Medical Scales

In today’s market there are many options available making patient weighing simple, quick and accurate – saving your staff time, and maybe even your patients life. Options include:

  1. Guldmann Integrated digital scales, designed to minimise cross infection – https://multicaremedical.co.uk/patient-hoist-scales/
  2. ‘Add on’ scales that fit between the spreader bar and the sling – https://multicaremedical.co.uk/product/hoist-weigh-scales/
  3. Chair scales – https://multicaremedical.co.uk/product/m200-chair-scales-2/ 
  4. Wheelchair scales – https://multicaremedical.co.uk/product/wheelchair-scales/

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