ACTION Overlay

The ACTION Overlay is a pressure-relieving mattress overlay designed to sit on top of an existing hospital, home care or profiling bed mattress to reduce the risk of pressure injuries for people with limited mobility or who spend long periods lying down. Rather than replacing the base mattress, the overlay adds an additional layer of foam or air-cell material that redistributes body weight across a larger surface area, easing pressure at bony prominences such as the heels, sacrum, hips and shoulder blades where skin breakdown most commonly occurs. This makes it a cost-effective way to upgrade the pressure care rating of an existing bed setup without purchasing a full replacement mattress. Overlays of this type are typically used for patients assessed as low-to-moderate risk of pressure injury, including those recovering from surgery, palliative care patients, and residents in aged care or home nursing settings. The cover is generally a wipeable, fluid-resistant material to support infection control between uses, and the overlay is lightweight enough to be fitted and removed by a single carer. Because it adds height to the sleeping surface, it should be used with correctly sized fitted sheets and bed rails should be reassessed for adequate height once the overlay is in place. As with all pressure care equipment, the correct product should be selected based on an individual clinical or occupational therapy assessment of the user's risk level, weight and mobility.