Institutional · Old age homes
Equipping an old age home: a practical equipment list
Trustees setting up an old age home usually budget for beds and forget the mattresses, the bathroom and the monthly consumables — the three things that decide whether residents are safe.
An old age home is a home first and a care facility second, but the equipment decisions are clinical ones. Trustees often budget carefully for beds and furniture and then discover that mattresses, bathroom fittings and consumables — the things that actually keep residents safe — were not in the plan.
This is a list organised by area, with what to buy first.
Start with the resident profile
Before buying, estimate how many residents will be:
- Mobile and independent — need safety fittings and a good chair
- Mobile with aids — need walkers, rails, raised seats
- Chair-bound — need wheelchairs, transfer aids, cushions
- Bedridden — need adjustable beds, pressure mattresses, hoists, full nursing supplies
The mix decides the budget. It will also change — residents decline — so keep a reserve of adjustable beds and pressure mattresses rather than buying only for today.
Resident rooms and wards
- Beds: sturdy standard beds at a safe transfer height for mobile residents; adjustable hospital beds with rails for bedridden and high-fall-risk residents
- Mattresses: a pressure-relieving air bed or water bed for every bedridden resident, without exception. See our comparison.
- Bedside lockers and overbed tables
- Bed rails or assist handles for residents who need something to hold
- Call bells within reach of every bed
- Night lighting along the route to bathrooms
- Chairs with arms at a height residents can rise from — not low sofas
Bathrooms
Where most institutional falls happen. Every bathroom used by residents:
- Grab bars beside every toilet and in every shower, anchored into masonry
- Shower chairs; shower commode chairs for dependent residents
- Raised toilet seats with arms, or toilet frames
- Non-slip flooring or mats; hand-held showers
- Doors that can be opened from outside
Our bathroom safety guide covers each item.
Mobility and transfers
- Wheelchairs — standard and transport; at least one reclining chair
- Walkers and rollators, fitted to individual residents
- Slide sheets for every bedridden resident
- Transfer belts for staff
- At least one patient hoist with a range of sling sizes — see our transfer aids guide
- Ramps at every level change
Nursing station and monitoring
- BP monitors with standard and large cuffs; pulse oximeters; glucometers; thermometers
- Weighing scale suitable for frail residents
- First-aid kit and emergency provisions per local requirements
- Oxygen concentrator and nebulizer for respiratory episodes
- Suction machine
- Medicine storage, locked, with a dispensing system
- Lockable cabinet for records and controlled items
Consumables — the recurring cost
- Adult diapers and underpads — by far the largest line
- Gloves, wipes, no-rinse cleanser, barrier cream
- Dressing supplies
- Bedpans, urinals, sputum mugs
- Disinfectants, biomedical waste bins and bags
Settle sizes and brands in the first month, then move to a wholesale monthly supply. Buying consumables at retail is the most common avoidable cost in care homes.
Order of purchase
- Safety: bathroom fittings, call bells, night lighting, first-aid
- Beds and mattresses matched to the resident profile, with a reserve
- Mobility and transfer aids, including one hoist
- Monitoring at the nursing station
- Consumables supply arrangement
- Comfort and activity furniture, once the essentials are in
Staff training is part of the equipment
A hoist nobody knows how to use, or an air bed set to the wrong pressure, is worse than not having one. Every item supplied should come with training for the staff who will use it, and a written note of how to check it weekly. See our maintenance guide.
How we supply institutions
Cosmic Surgicals has supplied old age homes, palliative units and nursing homes across Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, Idukki, Alappuzha and Ernakulam since 1990. Send the resident profile and a room count and we will build one itemised quotation at wholesale rates — imported and Indian options side by side — with free delivery to every ward, installation, and staff training on everything supplied. GST invoices and specification sheets for trustees and auditors.
See elderly care equipment or request an institutional quotation.
Frequently asked questions
Old age home equipment — FAQs
At minimum: beds appropriate to resident mobility, pressure-relieving mattresses for bedridden residents, bathroom safety fittings, mobility aids, basic monitoring devices, a first-aid and emergency provision, and a supply arrangement for consumables. Everything else can be phased as the resident profile becomes clear.
No. Mobile residents do well with sturdy standard beds at a safe height. Hospital beds with adjustment and rails are for residents who are bedridden, need repositioning, or are at fall risk. Plan a mix and keep a few adjustable beds in reserve for residents whose condition changes.
Yes. Cosmic Surgicals supplies old age homes, palliative units and care institutions across central Kerala at wholesale rates, with itemised quotations and GST invoices for trustees and auditors, free delivery and installation, and staff training on every piece of equipment.
Adult diapers and underpads by a wide margin, then gloves, wipes, barrier cream, dressing supplies and cleaning materials. Set up a monthly supply at wholesale rates once sizes and brands are settled — it is the largest recurring cost after staff.
Setting up or upgrading a care home?
Talk to a trusted supplier in Kottayam — imported and Indian brands, 100% genuine products.