The BathMat lets three ICU nurses reposition prone patients where five were needed

The BathMat is an inflatable pillow developed by the University of Bath together with Royal United Hospitals (RUH) Bath to sit under the chest and abdomen of critically ill patients who need to lie on their front for many hours. Prone ventilation is widely used to treat severe respiratory failure, with patients face-down for 16 hours a day and repositioned up to seven times daily.

Trials found the device reduces the demands on ICU teams: preliminary results showed the number of staff needed for a repositioning fell from five to three, and the trial also found it saved an hour of staff time per procedure. Dr Alexander Lunt, senior lecturer at the university and the project's lead engineer, said the device was inspired by ICU teams' experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic, which remain relevant as teams continue to operate under significant workforce pressure.

The trial concluded in June 2026, involving 30 patients and around 160 repositioning procedures. Lunt said the early clinical results show the number of staff required can be safely reduced while maintaining high standards of care. Engineers at the university adapted the device throughout the trial.

Dr Jerome Condry, an anaesthetics registrar and RUH research fellow who was chief investigator, said evidence suggests patients with complex care needs or a high body mass index may have reduced access to prone ventilation because of the resources it requires, and that the work aims to close that gap while improving care for all proned patients. The RUH said the BathMat frees up intensive care teams so patients get more consistent repositioning, and the plan is to make the device available to NHS hospitals in the coming years.

It targets the exact constraint — staff hands per turn — that decides which patients get prone therapy, so the device expands access rather than just convenience.

The five-to-three staffing result and hour saved per procedure were measured in a real trial of 30 patients and 160 procedures, not projected in a business case.

It came from a hospital engineering partnership born in a crisis, converting pandemic-era improvisation into a reusable tool for chronic workforce pressure.

When a skills bottleneck blocks a proven treatment, redesign the physical task before rationing it: equipment that removes hands from a procedure widens access instead of defending it.

The trial closed in June 2026 with preliminary results showing the staffing reduction and the hour saved per procedure, and engineers continued refining the device during the trial. The RUH plans to make the BathMat available to NHS hospitals in the coming years. No commercial or wider rollout figures were given in the source.