Standard Ultra Slide Sheet
- Standard-size multidirectional slide sheet - the most widely specified ULTRA format for adult patient care in NHS wards and care homes - providing full-trunk coverage for lateral turns, up-the-bed repositioning and lateral surface transfers without the need to lift, under Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992.
- Multidirectional glide fabric allows movement in any direction on the bed, enabling carers to complete sequential repositioning tasks - lateral turn followed by up-the-bed movement - without removing and repositioning the sheet between tasks, significantly reducing the total time and physical effort of a complete repositioning sequence.
- Reduces shearing forces on skin during repositioning, supporting NICE CG179 (pressure ulcer prevention) as the standard patient handling aid for at-risk patients requiring frequent repositioning, where reducing shear during each episode is a clinical objective alongside the manual handling compliance benefit.
- Reusable and washable for high-volume ward deployment, with the standard size providing the correct coverage for the majority of adult patients without the excess material of larger sizes, simplifying sheet management and storage in ward-based patient handling equipment inventories.
Standard Ultra Slide Sheet: The Most Widely Specified ULTRA Format for Adult Patient Repositioning
The Standard Ultra Slide Sheet is the most commonly specified size in the ULTRA range, providing full-trunk coverage for the majority of adult patients in NHS wards and care homes. With multidirectional glide fabric that allows movement in any direction without the need to lift, it supports the three core patient handling tasks - lateral turns, up-the-bed repositioning and lateral surface transfers - in a single sheet that does not need to be repositioned between tasks when the direction of movement changes. The standard format is sized to cover the trunk area of a typical adult patient, making it the appropriate default specification for most adult patient repositioning tasks without the excess material of larger formats that adds bulk and reduces handling ease.
Product Specifications
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Range | ULTRA slide sheet range |
| Size | Standard - most widely specified adult format |
| Glide | Multidirectional - movement in any direction |
| Type | Reusable, washable |
| Indication | Standard adult patients, full-trunk repositioning |
| Clinical Use | Lateral turns, up-the-bed, surface transfers |
Regulatory and Clinical Compliance
Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 and HSE guidance on patient handling both support the use of slide sheets as the primary means of reducing manual handling risk during bed-based patient repositioning. The Standard Ultra Slide Sheet is the format that covers the MHOR 1992-relevant tasks for the majority of the NHS and care home patient population, making it the appropriate standard procurement for ward-level patient handling equipment inventories. For NHS trusts and CQC-registered care homes building or reviewing their manual handling equipment policy, the Standard Ultra should be included as the default reusable slide sheet specification, with Wide, Long and Maxi variants specified as additions for specific patient size and task requirements rather than as replacements for the standard format.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Standard Ultra Slide Sheets should a ward stock per bed?
NHS moving and handling guidance typically recommends a minimum of two slide sheets per bed - one in use and one in the laundry - with a higher ratio for wards where repositioning frequency is high and laundry turnaround is slow. For high-dependency wards where patients are repositioned every two hours and slide sheets are used for every repositioning episode, a ratio of three to four sheets per bed may be required to maintain continuous availability given a standard 24-hour laundry cycle. Occupational therapists and manual handling advisors can advise on the appropriate per-bed stock ratio for the specific ward environment and patient caseload during a moving and handling equipment review.
Should slide sheets be assigned to individual patients or shared across a ward?
Current NHS infection control guidance recommends that reusable patient handling equipment such as slide sheets is assigned to individual patients for the duration of their care episode and decontaminated before reuse with a different patient. Sharing slide sheets between patients without validated decontamination between uses creates a cross-infection risk that is particularly significant for patients with MRSA, C.difficile or other healthcare-associated infections. Single-patient assignment also supports CQC Regulation 12 (Safe Care and Treatment) by ensuring that the infection control risk of shared reusable equipment is eliminated in wards where high-risk patients are present.
Part of our specialist Patient Moving and Handling Equipment range. Patient slide sheets reduce friction and manual handling risk for carers in residential and home care settings.
NCL-LOCO-001X
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- Standard-size multidirectional slide sheet - the most widely specified ULTRA format for adult patient care in NHS wards and care homes - providing full-trunk coverage for lateral turns, up-the-bed repositioning and lateral surface transfers without the need to lift, under Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992.
- Multidirectional glide fabric allows movement in any direction on the bed, enabling carers to complete sequential repositioning tasks - lateral turn followed by up-the-bed movement - without removing and repositioning the sheet between tasks, significantly reducing the total time and physical effort of a complete repositioning sequence.
- Reduces shearing forces on skin during repositioning, supporting NICE CG179 (pressure ulcer prevention) as the standard patient handling aid for at-risk patients requiring frequent repositioning, where reducing shear during each episode is a clinical objective alongside the manual handling compliance benefit.
- Reusable and washable for high-volume ward deployment, with the standard size providing the correct coverage for the majority of adult patients without the excess material of larger sizes, simplifying sheet management and storage in ward-based patient handling equipment inventories.