Hi Tin, I am so sorry to read about how tough things are for you at the moment hun
I think that
@Ann Mac ended up buying one and do recall it made it physically easier for her.
The hospital bed made a huge difference. Mil was very mobile still, the issue for me was the incontinence and the impact on me physically in dealing with it. Bending to strip the bed, pulling it out to change it and clean under it , it all left me aching and in pain. Our GP and the CPN told us we could apply for a hosiptal bed based on not just Mils needs, but mine as a carer - that there was a 'duty of care' to me too, but honestly - that was a load of rubbish. we had to apply through the district nurses, and as soon as I explained why I was asking, it was clear that they wouldn't be rushing to help. I would have to go on a waiting list for assessment, then - if they agreed that one was needed - a waiting list for a the bed itself, and we would have to pay for the mattres anyway as they were 'not supplied'. We were clearly talking months. So - we were lucky that Mil had enough in savings to buy one, and thats what we did. My only regret is that we didn't spend the extra to have it not only delivered but assembled too, as getting it to her room and putting it together was a nightmare - so heavy and complicated!
But it was worth every penny, Tin - and if your Mum can afford it, I can't urge you strongly enough to get one. As well as it making it physically 100% easier to deal with stripping and changing the bed, it being on wheels made cleaning underneath it a doddle! As a bonus, if she was poorly or had a tummy upset and I occasionally had to give her a bed bath/change her on the bed, again so much easier when I could adjust the height, and on a couple of occasions when she had cellulitus, I could raise the foot end and keep her feet elevated, which helped too. Being able to lower it to its lowest level also made me feel happier about reducing the risk of accidents if she got up in the night - not so far for her to fall as she was getting up, something that had happened several times before we got the bed.
They are not cheap, brand new - complete with mattress, I think it cost just under £1000! but, with hindsight, I wish I had looked at second hand refurbished ones - when Mil moved out, and the bed wasn't needed at the home, we didn't know what to do with the hospital bed, so we sold it to a place that refurbished them, got I think, just £150 - it was only about 12 months old, and still had a years warranty. So I checked what they were being sold for on reburbished web sites. Found them for sale at around £250 - £400. Yes, we would have had to buy a new mattress, but even so, it would have been a massive saving of her money (though I don't regret or feel guilty for spending what we did - without it, I think I woud have had to have given up caring for her a lot sooner than I actually did) . And a lot of the firms gave free delivery and put the beds together for you.
Now Mil is in the home, we are also having an issue with her banging her legs agains the walls, BTW. She has a condition called Tardive Dyskenisia, which is typified in her case by jerks, spasms and movements that can affect her whole body. To keep her safe, as at its worse the movements are so strong and violent that she is unable to remain in a chair or bed, the home have filled her room with bean bags and crash mats, furniture with sharp edges has been removed, and that's what she now sleeps on. It sounds awful, but that gives her the freedom to move, without the risk of falls and its honestly the best that anyone could come up with. But still, during the night, she can wriggle over to the walls and kick and bash her legs and arms against them, and she is constantly bruised. I've discused this with a specialist consultant, who is now in charge of her care, and there is no way round it, no way to prevent it. The consultant advised strongly against bed rails - she says more injuries are caused than prevented by them, fractures are not unlikely if someone is thrashing their legs around the way Mil and (by the sound of it) your Mum does, against a rail. She said it was far better, for example, to have a hospital bed at its lowest level and a crash mat beside it - a fall under those circumstances is less likely to cause serious injury than a bed rail. The only thing I can think of is if you could wedge a mattress between her bed and the wall? Could that help - at least then she would be bashing her legs against something soft?
Sending you lots of love and sympthy, hun xxxxx