Revisiting the Millbrook Contract Beds collections – Healthcare
For those just catching up with us on the blog we have spent the last couple of articles revisiting our contract bed collections here at Millbrook in anticipation of the predicted busyness of 2012. We went over the International Collection and its fitting selection of hotel contract beds and then we moved on to the Academic Collection and it’s suitability for that particular industry. Read those blogs by clicking on the links for HOTEL or for ACADEMIC. Continue reading »
Caring for those in poor health with quality contract beds
Caring for those in poor health can be a difficult thing because they need to be kept as comfortable as possible. When someone’s health declines and they lose the ability to care for themselves, we have to offer them our assistance to ensure that they are looked after well and given the same quality of care that you would expect from a professional. They need a quality contract bed More often than not, it’s someone that we love dearly and they need our help to stay at their best for as long as they possibly can. Declining health isn’t just a fact of old age anymore; it can affect younger generations, too, due to all sorts of maladies and illness. Continue reading »
Hibernating this winter with Millbrook Contract Beds – An Introduction
Let’s face it; the winter has arrived. There’s no sense in denying that the temperatures have dropped significantly, the mornings are far darker and the weather is increasingly wet and windy. Getting quality sleep during these winter months is one of the most difficult dilemmas in the annual sleeping calendar. It’s cold, damp and a breeding ground for illnesses of all sorts.
When darkness falls, our internal body clock begins to wind down and our bodies prepare for rest. Lots of people feel far more tired during the winter because of the harsher conditions around them and the shorter days. It’s a combination of factors that lead to this greater sense of tiredness in a person including the shorter periods of sunlight, losing that extra hour of sleep when the clocks go back, the body’s burning of more energy in order to stay warmer and battling against various cold and flu symptoms.
It’s the worst time for trying to get a good night’s sleep, that’s for sure. People want to be comfortable, warm and secure more than ever when it comes to their sleep environments. Millbrook Contract Beds is prepared however… Here’s what we think on the matter.
We see winter as a time of hibernation where people spend more hours in bed and much more time indoors. For industries dealing with guests, residences and patients that require the use of contract beds in their rooms, how these wintry issues are handled is of paramount importance. You have to treat it like you would in your own home.
Contract beds are only one part of the issue. A room must be a fit environment for winter sleep. That’s why looking at the bedroom as if you were creating a nest for hibernation is a good strategy to use. Create a dry, warm, comfortable and clean room that is heated correctly and isn’t full of unnecessary contract bedroom furniture items or distracting elements like computers with Internet access. It may seem like it doesn’t make a difference but it does.
Make the room a place of rest and sleep so your “human hibernation” can take place each night without interruption or distraction. This way the correct amount of sleep can be achieved in maximum comfort.
Central heating and insulated walls, floors and ceilings plus double glazed windows are essential parts of completing a suitable, satisfactory sleep environment this winter. Anyone who has ever slept in a room without double glazing and insulated surroundings can tell you how cold it can get! There are other things to look out for too such as drafts from under the door, condensation, dampness, blankets and duvets and of course the contract beds you use.
In the second part of this blog to prepare you for the cold months ahead we will delve further into how to get a good night’s sleep this winter. Don’t forget you can follow Millbrook Contract Beds on Twitter and like us on Facebook to stay in touch with us and our community.
Contact Us for more information on our contract beds and sleep advice.
The truth about contract beds – Budget cuts in the healthcare industry
The health of an individual is one of the most important things there is. There are many factors that dictate the overall health and well-being of a person, but one particular such factor that we specialise in, is comfort. We take the rest and recovery of patients very, very seriously.
In past blogs, Millbrook Contract Beds has engaged with the issues facing the healthcare industry in terms of looking after people who suffer from ailments or illness; from those in residential care to those in hospital. In recent news, it has been reported that planned cost-cutting measures will savage the healthcare industry quite badly in the coming months. The plan is to see more patients treated at home instead of hospital, and even cuts to jobs and beds in the hospitals themselves has not been ruled out either. Health trusts and government studies show that the quickest way to have an impact on reducing budgets is staff. The potential impact on patient care is substantial thanks to these budget cuts (necessary or not).
If more patients are due to get their treatment at home and not in a hospital or healthcare residence then it is highly likely that the demand for better equipped home care contract bedroom furniture will be required. So as budget cuts look set to scale back on the number of beds available to residents and patients, Millbrook would like to assure people that it is always here as an alternative support for healthcare contract bed solutions.
This is the truth about what we do…
We provide industries with ways of taking care of the people they put up for a night, a week, a month, or even indefinitely. Our contract beds are about enduring and providing uncompromising comfort for those that are guests, patients or residents.
Millbrook Contract Beds specialises in healthcare contract beds and has been supplying the healthcare industry and professions with our expertise and products for a good 60 years now. Our belief is that if patients need expert care then substandard surroundings just will not do, especially if they will be treated from home.
The two contract beds we offer for this industry are The Therapy and The Purity.
Without performing a live demonstration, we cannot fully express here just how advanced and superior these healthcare beds are for people for need to experience varying degrees of comfort, independence and assistance.
For instance, The Therapy is the finest adjustable contract bed available as far as we’re concerned! Its control function is a five way adjustable positioning system that can be operated via handset control giving complete autonomy to the user. With an added massage option it really is the cutting edge. It sums up the three ‘R’ words; recline, relaxation and recovery.
We’ll have to wait and see how these budget cuts affect the healthcare industry and what consequences they may have on quality of patient care but Millbrook Contract Beds will always be able to provide a safety net when it comes to home care alternatives with our contract bed options.
What makes a good night’s sleep at Millbrook Contract Beds – Part 2
In a previous blog Millbrook Contract Beds walked you through the essential factors involved with getting the best out of a night’s sleep through contract bedroom furniture whether you are a hotel, academic residence or healthcare practice.
Having covered those essential ingredients to giving people the best sleep possible with contract beds, it’s time to discuss the environment itself.
What do we mean by environment exactly?
Well, it’s simple stuff really and these tips can apply to all industries that deal with supplying rooms and beds to people.
1. Room temperature
This is really is important to creating a comfortable environment fit for sleep. A guest or resident needs to have a temperature that isn’t too hot or too cold. In summer there needs to be a competent air conditioning system in place that gives coolness to the rooms at night, while in winter, heating is a must-have option. In an ideal space the person staying in the room will have independent or remote access to the temperature so they can self-adjust it to their own comfort level.
2. Schedules
While you cannot enforce sleep schedules with guests or residents you can provide a guide for them to adhere too. No noise past a certain time is of course a given, simply because other residents can be disturbed by too much disturbance. Also a curfew for closing the front doors and hallway lights out usually gives guests an idea of just what time is the right time for bed. If people stick to a strict sleep schedule they will feel far more refreshed the next day.
3. Exercise
Everybody knows the importance of exercise for general health but what can make it such a great benefit is that it helps people to sleep more peacefully. Hotels can offer gym facilities for guests to use and work out in. People’s bodies use the sleep period to recover their muscles and joints that have been exercised. However, it is only recommended that gym facilities be open until a certain time (usually 8pm or 9pm). Exercise directly before sleep is too stimulating and will make it more difficult for guests to drift off.
4. Limit room services at night
It can be very tempting for guests or residents to call on your services for midnight meals and snacks but by enforcing a curfew on food and drink availability up to a certain time you contribute to guests having a better night’s sleep overall. Eating or snacking before bed (including drinks with caffeine) is the worst thing for sleep.
5. Provide reading materials
And we don’t just mean having a copy of the Bible in the drawers between the contract beds! We mean you should provide a reasonable selection of up-to-date newspapers, fiction books and magazines so that there is something to read before your guests/residents sleep. As most avid readers know, reading a book for bed is the best way to fall asleep as you grow more and more tired the further you read.
This is some of our best advice for providing the right seep environments for guests and residents in any industry that provides sleeping facilities. Millbrook Contract Beds has been in the business of sleep for over 60 years, so when we give you our top tips on the subject, you can be sure its up-to-date, honest and useful.
Contact Us for further information on contract beds and sleep related advice.
What makes a good night’s sleep at Millbrook Contract Beds – Part 1
It’s one of the most important aspects of daily living and general health – sleep. Yet many people take their sleep for granted.
Millbrook Contract Beds has been in the business of sleep for over 60 years now, which makes us experts in the field. For industries that use our contract beds for guests, patients, residents, students etc. the following information is extremely important if you wish to provide a decent sleep experience to these people.
So what are the essential rules on making a night’s sleep a good one?
Well, being a contract bed supplier we can tell you; it’s ALL about the bed.
If you have tattered, lumpy, lopsided old mattresses with a rickety bed bases then you have to consider that the reason people are not sleeping well in them is because they are inferior products worn down by years of use. The first rule of bed maintenance is to flip once or twice every couple of months to keep the fillings even and to avoid creating unnatural grooves or dents in the bed material.
This should be standard operating procedure, particularly for a hotel or guest house. However, sometimes, it’s just not enough to flip your mattress if it is years past its sell by date! Yes, even beds have a shelf-life and once they get past the 7-10 year mark, it’s time to start thinking about trading up for a new model.
Contract bedroom furniture is designed to last, but nothing lasts forever, which means investment is key to sustaining a good business model if you are a hotelier, landlord, lettings agent, healthcare specialist, residency or guest house.
Ultimately, you are being judged on the quality of your contract beds and their comfort, durability, quality and maintenance. Your business can live or die based on the quality of the materials you use to treat and look after guests and residents of your premises.
So let’s address the key elements to give them that perfect night’s sleep…
Using 3 of our contract bed ranges as examples of how to get the effect you need to give;
- The Hotel contract bed has a proven popularity amongst hoteliers and works primarily because it has a deep mattress providing the classic firm option to people. It is practical and hardwearing, which is the perfect option for people on the move that just need a bed to crash in for the night for healthy, comfy sleep.
- The Therapy contract bed is the next level up that provides a fully-immersive experience via manual control so it can be adjusted to suit the specific needs of the sleeper. This is an ideal option for healthcare residences that require a degree of technological advancements to go with the comfort and quality. With its five way adjustable position and handset control it’s what all dream beds are made of really. You can do everything from the bed without having to move a muscle.
- The Campus contract bed is the final example on our list of what a bed should provide to give a good night’s sleep. It’s a smart but practical design that is essentially about economy of space and size. It’s not a contract bed for those seeking ultimate luxury but practicality.
These contract beds are very much the best examples of how to give people a good night’s sleep. Keep your eyes out for the next part in “What makes a good night’s sleep with Millbrook Contract Beds” where we go into more detail about techniques and products to help your guests sleep better.
Quality of care with Millbrook Contract Beds
The media spotlight has been on the healthcare industry for the past few months, particularly adult social care homes. Reports of mismanagement and poor quality care for elderly or disabled residents in a very small minority of care homes were hot potato topics in the news early this year, prompting the need on behalf of regulatory bodies and the government to have a review of the healthcare industry as a whole.
Millbrook Contract Beds has been researching national statistics that show a steep rise in the demand for adult social care, yet more cutbacks in this area and recent controversy over the suitability of some care facilities have not helped matters improve.
When it comes to taking care of people there needs to be an emphasis on the quality of care more than anything else. Unfortunately, budgetary restrictions can equal a limited number of options for healthcare professionals. However, there is a solution to one piece of this puzzling dilemma.
Our Healthcare Collection has been designed to be ideal for both care and residential homes as well as provide a cost effective solution to help combat affordability restrictions. Our 60 years plus experience has given us a great deal of time to communicate with and understand the healthcare industry, its needs and its necessities.
Pundits have stated that the key to improved quality of care in homes across the UK is dependent upon the use of modernised, sanitary facilities and fully trained and experienced care workers. Of course one of the most important factors in any care home is the contract bedroom furniture. This is after all supposed to be a home to its residents. One of the most shocking things seen in the documentaries and news reports about the state of a minority care homes for the elderly and the disabled was the condition of some of the rooms. Second hand furniture, unwashed bedding, collapsing bed frames, filthy floors and walls, not enough space per room etc. These are such crucial parts to maintaining a person’s well-being, dignity and overall health that they should not be considered as trivial things.
Millbrook Contract Beds has always manufactured its contract beds with due attention to the people each collection is designed for – in the case of our Healthcare Collection our task was to design beds that would be the optimal choices for those who needed support, comfort and control during recovery and rest. The Therapy presents an exemplary example of how a bed for healthcare industries should function. It is an adjustable pocket spring bed that includes het sensitive memory foam and fully responds to body contours. Its five-way adjustable position operated by a handset control gives the freedom of control back to the user. The massage option is a fantastic addition to this bed that helps to sooth and relax.
The Therapy Contract Bed
In a time when care homes need all the help they can get in order to run efficiently and operate to the best of their capabilities, Millbrook Contract Beds is always available to give its advice on improving the quality of rest and recovery with our Healthcare Collection and experience with the industry. Contact Us if you would like to know more.
We are also on Facebook and Twitter, please join in with our discussions there.
A Contract Bed Guide – Millbrook Blog Recap Part 8
Millbrook Contract Beds has spent the last two weeks taking a retrospective glance back at our blogging activity over the past year. Our aim has been to create a comprehensive archive of all the subjects and topics we have covered from the contract bedroom furniture world here at Millbrook.
We are almost at the end of our exploration of the blog archives. If you are looking for answers to questions about contract beds or general information about the hospitality, academic and healthcare industries, you only need to use our Contract Bed Guide to navigate your way through our extensive collection of blogs.
To flick through our index from the beginning you can read PART 1 here. PART 2, PART 3, PART 4, PART 5, PART 6 and PART 7 can be viewed by clicking the individual links.
To continue from where we left off last time:
46. Hotels taxing their guests for contract beds
Millbrook is always staying in step with news related to our client bases in the hospitality sector. We caught an article that talked about an imposed taxation on hotel contract beds that we felt was necessary to address. This blog weighed up the idea and drew conclusions about the potential effects that it could have on the industry.
47. Contract beds in Healthcare
A study of the healthcare industry and what is good for patients when it comes to the care and recovery process.
48. Contract Bed Guide: More advice from Millbrook
This was a follow-up to the Hotel Poll blog from a few weeks previous. It took the data that was researched and retrieved from our client base to determine what hotels looked to achieve with their guest experience. Aspects of policy and quality control were addressed.
A question that comes up a lot when it comes to client purchase is in regards to warranties. We wanted to directly tackle the warranty element of contract bed buying and to explore the benefits and importance of having one.
50. Why buy a mass produced contract bed when you can get it high quality handmade?
Essentially, what the title says is what this blog looked at. The idea was to investigate the general practices of the bed manufacturing industry and compare it against our own design philosophy.
51. Are you ready for the influx of visiting students this season? Prepare with contract beds
The summer season was underway and we here at Millbrook thought it was time to address the academic industry’s biggest month of the year – the visiting students. The question of space, availability and facilities to help support this massive influx of students was investigated and our advice imparted on resolving potential issues.
52. Adjustable contract beds make a big difference
As far as the highest quality contract beds are concerned, the buck stops with the Millbrook contract beds Healthcare Collection; this blog was dedicated to exploring the issues faced by healthcare establishments and how adjustable contract beds were the answer to the equation.
As we face the nearing end of this Blog Recap series, we saved the best for last but you’ll have to keep a look out for the last blog, which will complete our archiving and indexing journey.
Use these blogs as a reference to find the topic or subject that applies to you and your business. Our advice is substantial and our coverage of the bed buying industry is comprehensive.
For more information Contact Us. For general advice, tips and interesting news about the world of sleep like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
A Contract Bed Guide – Millbrook Blog Recap Part 7
As Millbrook Contract Beds draws ever nearer to the end of our Blog Recap, we look back on our past musings with a sense of nostalgia and hope that some of the information we have imparted over the last nine to ten months has been of some help to those that have read it.
It all started from a simple idea of communicating our business across through blogging about the benefits of our contract beds and the details of our industry. Since then we have covered everything from hospitality to academia to healthcare and beyond.
It’s not too late to jump into our Blog Recap series; you can read from the start and catch-up on all the details of past blogs that you have missed with BLOG RECAP’S PART 1, PART 2, PART 3, PART 4, PART 5 and PART 6.
40. Healthcare contract beds – The Purity
This was Part 1 of a 2-part blog that chronicled the Healthcare Collection starting with The Purity. A profile was developed that extensively covered the features, benefits and essential ingredients that are put into The Purity and why it is indispensable to healthcare industries.
41. Healthcare contract beds – The Therapy
This was the concluding part of a 2-part blog on Healthcare contract beds. The Therapy was profiled in detail from design to functionality creating an in-depth exploration of one of the finest contract beds ever built.
42. Poll conducted: What hoteliers look for in their contract bed supplier
Taking a step in a different direction, Millbrook Contract Beds decided to poll a series of hotels and B&B’s for their opinions on contract bedroom furniture and meeting demands and guest expectations. This was an insight into our clients and how they operated.
43. Academic Collection – The Conference contract bed
The Academic Collection was the last collection on our list to explore and we wanted to start off with The Conference – one of the most practical contract beds. This bed is about economy of price and economy of space. The profile consisted of exploring its uses in a wealth of detail.
44. Academic Collection – The Residence contract bed
The second part in the Academic Collection trilogy was about taking a closer look at The Residence. Now this was an attempt to highlight its uses for hospitality and academic industries. Its compact, practical design gives it an overwhelmingly useful purpose for either industry.
45. Academic Collection – The Campus contract bed
Concluding, not only the Academic Collection blog trilogy, but also the profiles on the entire Millbrook contract bed ranges including International and Healthcare – a profile of The Campus contract bed completed the journey. It was the very last in our Millbrook bed collection profiling series.
And that brings us to the end of Part 7 as we come closer to successfully indexing our entire blog thus far.
Prepare for the final few blogs coming up over the next couple of weeks.
If you would like more information on our services and products, or even if you just need advice, please Contact Us. For a place where you can see regular updates for sleep advice, tips, tricks, general news and product information simply like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. Join our community.
A Contract Bed Guide – Millbrook Blog Recap Part 1
Millbrook contract beds started blogging back in December of 2010 in an effort to raise awareness of our products and to impart useful information on sleep related matters for the service industries from hospitality to healthcare to academic. In that time we have covered a variety of subjects amongst the industries that we supply contract beds to.
Nine months later…
We wanted to take a look back and provide a refresher summary on what we have covered over the past months and the advice we have imparted to you. This also helps to act as an index for those that might be looking for specific details or information on Millbrook’s products and services. The objective has always been to offer information and facts about contract beds, as well as providing case studies, research and key factors for businesses who are interested in buying contract beds that are of good quality yet value for money.
So let’s start at the beginning in this new series of retrospective blogs on where we have taken you and what we have imparted along the way:
1. Contract Beds – Some information for the hospitality industry by Millbrook Contract Beds:
Our introductory blog helped us to establish our experience and provided basic guidance for the hotel industry and contract bedroom furniture. This blog lays the foundations for clarifying our standing and position as an experienced bed supplier for the hospitality and leisure industries.
2. Cruise your way to a luxury night’s sleep:
Providing a guide for luxury liners was the next step. Our contract bed are not just for stationary use – they can be used on some of the biggest and most exciting pleasure vessels on the planet. The emphasis is on how to help people to have a luxury night’s sleep whilst constantly in motion at sea.
This blog addressed the issues of sleep deprivation and how to combat the effects through testing your beds.
4. Some key information from Millbrook Contract Beds:
The key information being imparted in this blog was to explain what exactly you can find inside mattresses and what the uses of the materials can do for the sleeper.
5. Contract beds and their mattresses – a guide for every industry:
The blog before explained what was inside the mattresses of contract beds; this blog focused on the outside discussing the upholstery techniques and fillings used to offer premium support and comfort to the user.
6. Contract beds and their bases:
Millbrook wanted to breakdown the contract bed designs so that people could understand just how they were put together. This blog concentrated on the bed bases and what you needed to know in order to distinguish them from one another. The focus was on The President contract bed.
7. Contract beds in the UK and the ranges available:
The progression in our blogging took us towards discussing our specific ranges here at Millbrook; taking a detailed look at the actual contract beds, as well as their uses for their in terms of industry. A profile for The Executive contract bed was formed to give a perspective on its features and benefits for hotel industries.
This concludes the first part in our look back at Millbrook contract beds blog archives. If you need advice or further information that you can’t find in our blog then please Contact Us and we will gladly help you in your queries.
Alternatively, you can follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook.