Home Care Bed vs Standard Bed: How to Choose

Weighing up a home care bed vs standard bed starts with what happens in the bed each day: whether the person can sit up, roll over and get out on their own, and whether someone helps them with care. A standard bed has a fixed, flat base at one height. A home care bed moves, raising the back, bending the knees and often changing height, so rest, care and transfers are easier. This guide compares the two, explains when an ordinary bed is enough, and covers how to choose a home care bed by type, size, rails, mattress and National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) funding.

Allcare Warehouse is a registered NDIS provider with a Liverpool showroom. Its beds range covers home care beds from Icare and care and facility beds from makers including Gravitate, Sileo and Avalon, and the specifications below come from those product descriptions.

Home care bed vs standard bed: what is different

Most home care beds are profiling beds, with the mattress platform split into hinged sections driven by electric motors. Occupational therapy guidance from the NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI), written for people with spinal cord injury, explains what each function does and makes a useful checklist for comparing a home care bed vs standard bed:

• Functions: head raise lets a person change position on their own, and knee break helps stop them sliding down the bed, which can shear the skin. Some beds add Trendelenburg tilt, as on the Gravitate G6, or vascular support, as on the Gravitate G5. A standard bed does none of this.
• Height for carers: the ACI says the hi-lo function helps with safe transfers between the bed and a wheelchair or commode and lets the bed be set to a safe working height for carers. The IC280 adjusts from 390 mm to 810 mm, while a static base such as the Icare Companion Bed sits at a fixed 345 mm from the floor to the mattress platform.
• Mattress: a home care bed needs a mattress that bends with the platform, covered in the mattress section below.
• Rails: rails on a home care bed are made to fit the frame, such as the G6 Split Side Rail Set for the Gravitate G6. The ACI notes side rails assist with bed mobility and safety.
• Space: the ACI notes bed width can affect personal care and bed mobility, asks you to weigh the room and the carer’s needs before choosing a wider bed, and suggests a second bed alongside instead. It also says under-bed clearance must leave room for a mobile floor hoist.

When a standard bed is enough

The ACI’s checklist starts with the person: can they change position independently, can they transfer on their own or is a hoist needed, and do they need help with turns or personal care? When the answers are yes, yes and no, a standard bed may still do the job, with smaller aids around it. An overbed table such as the Icare Over Bed Table is described as sitting over any bed and mattress, and the ActiveX™ Overlay adds pressure relief on an existing mattress. Once someone needs help to sit up, turn or transfer, the balance shifts towards a home care bed, and a health professional can confirm which functions matter.

Types of home care bed

Domestic-style beds for light care

The IC111™ Homecare Bed has a domestic-looking base with head lift and knee break and is described as a low-risk extra mobility option for light care. It comes in split queen and split king sizes with individual controls for each side, so couples can keep sharing a bed.

High-low beds for carers

The IC222™ Homecare Bed adds height adjustment to head lift and knee break, with 165 mm of under-bed clearance for lifting hoists, and the IC333™ Homecare Bed is a four-function bed with unlimited under-bed clearance.

Low and floorline beds

For people at risk of falling out of bed, a floorline bed lowers close to the floor. The Gravitate G5™ Floorline Bed is described as the lowest bed in the Icare range, lowering to 67 mm, with emergency battery back-up lowering. The Avalon Floor Lo-Lo Bed lowers to 160 mm and is designed to reduce the risk of injury from falls.

Bariatric, petite and partner beds

The IC555 Bariatric Bed has a 300 kg safe working load and comes in king single only. The IC280P™ Petite Homecare Bed is 1800 mm long and 800 mm wide, for children and people of small stature. For a partner or parent sleeping alongside, the IC100™ Static Partner Bed is a non-function bed designed to pair with a homecare bed.

Choose the bed for the care that happens in it, then fit the room, the rails and the mattress around it.

Home care bed sizes and room planning

Size decides which mattress, sheets and rails fit, and whether a carer and equipment can reach the bed. Models vary:

• The IC222™ is available only in king single and long single.
• The Gravitate G4™ Facility Bed has a single 1900 x 900 mm mattress platform and disassembles for storage.

Measure the bedroom, the doorways and the path from the front door before choosing. Allcare delivers Sydney wide and freight can be arranged within NSW, as the delivery and pick-up page explains.

Bed rails, bed sticks and accessories

Rails and extras are usually ordered separately, as the Gravitate G5™ description notes. The bed accessories range shows the options: the full length side rail folds down, the extendable side rail retracts so the person can get in and out without obstruction, and the U-Assist Side Rail gives several grab points for transfers.

The NDIS treats bed rails as higher-risk assistive technology because they restrict voluntary movement, and bed sticks and other transfer aids are on the same list, so add them on a health professional’s advice rather than by default.

Pairing the mattress with the bed

Because the platform folds at the back and knees, the mattress has to bend without bunching or sliding. Many pressure care mattresses are made for this: the Eurocare Dynamic Plus Mattress has foam profile cut to suit adjustable beds, and the Icare ActiveX™ mattresses have a base designed to contour to any profiling bed. The IC15 ActiveX™ has a firm feel described as making turning easier, while the IC20 is a medium feel that softens with heat and pressure.

A foam option such as a 5 zone mattress suits some people, while those at higher risk of skin damage may need an air system; our pressure injury prevention guide goes further. Finish with bedding and bed protection and slide sheets for repositioning.

Funding a hospital bed for home through the NDIS

Many families search for a hospital bed for home, and under the NDIS these are called adjustable beds. Adjustable beds sit on the same higher-risk list, so you need written advice to buy one, and the NDIS also gives them as an example of mid-cost assistive technology, the band between $1,500 and $15,000, which needs a recommendation from an assistive technology advisor such as an allied health practitioner.

Funding decisions are made by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) under your plan, never by Allcare. Our assistive technology funding guide explains what can be claimed, and our guide to hospital discharge equipment helps when a bed is needed quickly after a hospital stay.

Frequently Asked Questions

Deciding between the two

The home care bed vs standard bed decision rests on how much the person can do alone and how much help happens at the bedside. If needs are likely to change, compare beds that can grow with them, and keep any written advice from the treating team with your plan paperwork.