How to use the Patient Transfer Scale

The Patient Transfer Scale is Marsden's revolutionary PAT slide with a weighing scale built into it.

More than 300 of the devices have now been ordered for hospitals throughout the UK, while interest in the scale - and further orders - have also come from Australia, Germany, the USA and New Zealand.

How can the Patient Transfer Scale be used in different departments within the hospital - for example ED, Stroke and ICU - to get a quick, accurate weight? This blog post explains.

How can the Patient Transfer Scale improve your processes?

PTS inventor, Gillian Taylor, speaking at the launch event said, “If you come into hospital and you are immobile and can’t stand on a scale, right now the method we have to weigh you is cumbersome and time consuming. It is undignified for patients.

“We either guess the weight - which has potential to be inaccurate - or speak to a family member, or we use a hoist weighing scale.

“If someone has a stroke caused by a blood clot they can sometimes require thrombolysis treatment and they need to get weighed quickly.

“In order to dissolve that clot we need a accurate weight.

“By the time you arrive at hospital, we have to give the drug in 30 minutes. You can imagine how long it takes to weigh a patient in a hoist.”

The Patient Transfer Scale looks to overcome these problems and means patients can be weighed accurately as they are transferred from trolley to bed - in other words, as part of an already existing process. Find out more about the benefits of the PTS here.

How to use the Patient Transfer Scale

The Patient Transfer Scale not only ensures the weight reading is accurate but it is quick and easy to use. Use in line with current transfer/manual handling policies when following the steps below:

1. Move the Patient using your current moving and handling procedures for your NHS Trust or care provider ensuring there is enough staff to carry out the lateral transfer.
2. Apply brakes on the castors.
3. Turn the Patient Transfer Scale on.
4. Roll the patient onto their side.
5. The scale should then be positioned across the bed or trolley, ensuring both are at an equal height. There must be a minimum of 20cm of the scale on the bed or trolley on each side.
6. Roll the patient back and onto the scale, using your current moving and handling procedures.
7. Pause for two seconds when the patient is fully on the scale, then press the Hold button. After two seconds the scale will ‘hold’ the displayed weight.
8. Continue with the patient transfer moving the patient safely onto the bed or trolley.

Further information can be found in this video. For more information on Patient Transfer Scale, click here.