As a care home staff member in charge of purchasing supplies, you have a great deal of responsibility.
With every product you purchase for your care home, you need to be sure that it will assist keep your residents and colleagues safe while also performing the task you need it to do.
However, it can be challenging to know where to purchase reliable care home supplies, and what to look out for from them.
So, here are the top five things you should look out for when choosing your care home products and furniture supplier.
Check the supplier is industry regulated
Any supplies and furniture you use in your care home needs to be up to the task of keeping your residents safe.
So when choosing a care home supplier, you need to make sure they stock products from reputable manufacturers that meet the current care home standards.
Here is an overview of some of the standards your care home furniture needs to conform to:
High-quality care home furniture
Furniture for care must meet a higher BS (British) standard when used in a nursing setting than furniture used in a household setting.
For example, furniture used in a care facility must be flame retardant to Crib 5, ensuring the safety of you, your colleagues, residents, and the building itself.
As a result, any care home furniture you purchase needs to meet the following critical British criteria for providing care homes:
- BS7176 for nursing home furnishings and upholstery
- BS7177 for mattresses
- BS5867 part 2 for curtains
High-quality care home supplies
For all furniture and other general supplies, you must make sure any supplier stocks items made to ISO9001 standards.
These standards ensure that the product has been made within a compliant environment and tested to the highest standards for quality control.
You can check whether your proposed supplier meets the relevant care home standards by viewing their website. Most suppliers have an information page on the standards they conform to when choosing their products.
However, if you are still unsure, reputable suppliers should be able to give you a product information sheet upon request.
Purchase from a company that price matches
Care homes have limited budgets, and with so many shops, suppliers and products on the market, it can be challenging to keep up with the best deals.
Fortunately, online care home marketplaces exist that allow you to easily compare prices on like-for-like products from many of the top names in the care industry.
Such marketplaces enable you to compare several products side by side in terms of price and product description so you can ensure you’re getting the right product at the best possible price.
Price comparison tools have been a game-changer for the nursing home industry, but many care staff are aware these sites exist.
Use companies that make purchasing easy
Many care home supply websites can be difficult to navigate or not stock all of the items you need – forcing you to visit several difficult suppliers.
In contrast, Wippet is a ‘healthcare marketplace’, which means we stock every product care homes need from a wide range of suppliers.
For example, we stock products for personal hygiene, medical consumables, bedroom aids, care home housekeeping, care home furniture and even wheelchairs.
Such a wide range of products means you can:
- Find everything you need for your care home in one place
- Compare the prices of similar products to get the best deal
- Discover new products to help keep your residents and staff safer
- Be sure that you’re up to date with the latest products available for the care sector
At Wippet, we stock everything from care home bedroom furniture and dining room furniture to medical consumables and nursing home housekeeping supplies.
Visit Wippet now to purchase everything you need for your care home.
