Dialysis chair specifications for treatment centres

Specifying a dialysis chair starts with how the station actually runs, not with a feature list. A session lasts hours, the same patient returns two or three times a week, and nursing staff move around the chair throughout. This checklist walks through the lines worth writing explicitly into a specification before requesting offers, alongside what the datasheets in HOSPIcare's CURA flex range record, so the offers that come back can be compared instead of interpreted.

First: a dialysis chair is not a dialysis machine

Search engines conflate the two constantly, and in procurement the difference is fundamental. The machine is the haemodialysis unit that drives the circuit and the filter. The chair is the patient seat beside it, where the patient sits or lies through the session. We manufacture the chair and the furniture around the station; we do not manufacture the machine.

That is why the two belong in separate line items in a tender document, each with its own supplier. Collapsing them into one line produces offers that cannot be compared and delays the award.

Functions: what the station actually uses

The simplest configuration is a manual two-function chair such as the MLH-15, which adjusts the back and leg rest without power and comes with an adjustable stainless steel IV pole. Next is the electric chair that extends into a full bed, such as the MLH-07. Above that sit the models adding height adjustment, such as the MLH-06, up to the fullest configuration, the MLH-06I.

The working rule: every function you add should map to something the staff do daily. If the team raises and lowers the chair every session, height adjustment buys back time and effort. If the station is fixed-height by design, that budget belongs elsewhere. The hemodialysis chairs page sets out what each level includes.

Trendelenburg: specify the angle, not the name

The MLH-06T and MLH-06I datasheets record an emergency Trendelenburg function at 16°. What matters in a specification is that the angle is written as a figure rather than the position being named on its own, because the name alone leaves room for very different interpretations between suppliers.

When the position is used, and on which chairs it is required, is a decision for the centre's protocol and its clinical team, not for the manufacturer. What we supply is the function to a written specification, with other models in the range available without it for stations that do not need it.

Dimensions and the space around the station

The CURA flex chairs record a length of 195 cm and a width of 60 cm across the range, and that is the figure that goes onto the floor plan. Height differs by model: 55 cm on the MLH-07, MLH-06T and MLH-15, 75 cm on the MLH-06 and 80 cm on the MLH-06I.

Take those numbers to the plan before ordering: spacing between chairs, where the machine sits relative to the vascular access side, trolley circulation, and the door. A chair that extends into a full bed needs clearance behind the backrest that the folded footprint does not show.

Armrests and footrest

Movable armrests are not negotiable on a dialysis station: staff need access to the arm from the side, and the patient needs steady support for the whole session. The chairs in the range carry movable armrests and an adjustable footrest.

Write into the specification how the armrest moves — does it lift, swing outward, or detach? And does it hold position when a patient leans on it to stand? These are details that only a sample reveals, and asking for one before awarding a large quantity is worth the delay.

Upholstery and cleaning between sessions

The chair is wiped down between one patient and the next, three or more times a day per station, and that — not the sitting — is what wears the upholstery out. Ask the specification to state the covering material, how it behaves with the disinfectants your centre uses by name, and what it is warranted for.

Ask also for continuous surfaces with as few seams and inside corners as possible, and for upholstery to be listed as a replaceable spare part. A chair that can be re-upholstered after some years stays in service longer than one that gets replaced whole.

Castors, brakes and stability

The MLH-15 datasheet records silent castors with brakes. Silence is not a luxury in a room where patients spend hours, and the brakes are what stops the chair creeping during connection and disconnection.

Ask the specification to state how many castors are braked, and to have stability tested with the chair extended into the full bed position, not only folded. Ask the supplier to state the maximum load in writing rather than leaving it open — it is a line that is often skipped and then asked about at delivery.

Accessories ordered with the chair

A lower storage shelf is standard on several models in the range, and the adjustable stainless steel IV pole comes with the MLH-15. A chair table or overbed table and a paper roll holder are recorded as optional, depending on the model.

Settle every accessory in the specification instead of leaving it to interpretation. The gap between two close offers is often an accessory that is standard for one supplier and optional for another, and it only shows when the line items are read one by one.

Quantity and what drives the cost

How many chairs a centre needs follows its station plan and session turnover, and those are set by the centre's own planner rather than by the manufacturer; we supply whatever quantity the plan calls for. What moves the cost is the function count, whether Trendelenburg is included, the upholstery, the accessories, the number of units, the delivery city, installation and training, and the warranty period and spare-parts availability.

Put the lines above on one sheet and send it unchanged to every supplier. When offers are built on the same specification the comparison becomes real. The CURA flex range page shows the rest of the station furniture — tables, trolleys and stands.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a dialysis chair and a dialysis machine?

The machine is the haemodialysis unit that drives the circuit and the filter during a session. The chair is the patient seat beside it, where the patient sits or lies, and in most of our models it extends into a full bed. We manufacture the chair and the station furniture, not the machine, and the two belong in separate tender line items.

What are the most important lines in a dialysis chair specification?

Function count and how it is controlled, whether Trendelenburg is included with its angle written as a figure, dimensions and height adjustment, how the armrests and footrest move, the upholstery and how it behaves with your disinfectants, castors, brakes and maximum load, and finally which accessories are standard rather than optional. Together these make offers comparable.

Does every station need Trendelenburg?

That is a decision for the centre's protocol and clinical team, not the manufacturer. In practice many centres equip part of their stations with the function and the rest without it. The MLH-06T and MLH-06I datasheets record emergency Trendelenburg at 16°, and other models in the range are available without it.

How many chairs does a dialysis centre need?

The number follows the station plan, the number of shifts and session turnover — figures set by the centre's planner or equipment consultant against the target capacity and the available floor area. A manufacturer cannot set that number on the centre's behalf; we supply the quantity the plan approves, from a single unit to a full room.

What determines the cost of a dialysis chair?

The function count and control method first, then whether Trendelenburg is included, then the upholstery and which accessories are standard, then the number of units, the delivery city, installation and staff training, and finally the warranty period and spare-parts availability. That is why each centre receives an offer built on its own specification.

Related pages

Hemodialysis chairs · CURA flex range · Electric hospital beds