Medical Equipment on Rent and Purchase in Bangalore

Medical equipment for home care in Bangalore is supplied by Varolyn in two ways — hospital beds, wheelchairs, oxygen concentrators, BiPAP and CPAP machines, suction machines and patient monitors come on rent, while air mattresses, walkers and nebulisers are supplied on purchase rather than on rent, because each of those three is sized or set to one person and is not passed between patients. This page sets out what sits on each side, how to decide between the two, and what happens when the equipment arrives.

What comes on rent

Renting suits equipment a household needs for a defined stretch of time and then does not need again. These are shared-use machines and furniture: delivered, installed, serviced while you have them, and collected at the end.

• Hospital beds — manual and electric, with side rails and height adjustment for whoever is caring for the patient.
• Wheelchairs — standard, reclining and transport chairs, for the weeks when getting out of the room matters.
• Oxygen concentrators — home and portable units, run at the flow the treating doctor has written.
• BiPAP and CPAP machines — set only to the pressures the treating doctor has prescribed.
• Suction machines — supplied where the treating doctor has asked for airway suction at home.
• Patient monitors — multipara monitors and pulse oximeters, where the doctor wants continuous observation at home.

What comes on purchase, and why

Three items are sold rather than rented, and the reason is the patient rather than the product. Each is fitted or set to a single person, or goes against skin and airway, so it is not moved from one household to the next.

• Air mattresses — the pump is set for one patient’s weight. A mattress carrying the settings and the wear of a previous patient is not the same mattress for the next one.
• Walkers — a walker is adjusted to one person’s height and one person’s grip. The height is the whole safety of the thing, so it stays with that person.
• Nebulisers — the cup and the mask go into one person’s airway. A nebuliser kit is a hygiene item, so it belongs to one patient and is never shared.

These come to you as your own. We deliver them, set them up in the room where they will be used and show the family how to use and clean them.

Using the purchase items safely

Air mattress. An alternating-pressure mattress reduces pressure under the skin, but it does not replace turning the patient. A turning schedule is still required unless the treating team says otherwise. The pump has to be set for that patient’s weight, and only a single fitted sheet should go over the mattress — a rubber sheet or a quilt works against the mechanism.

Walker. The wrong height causes falls rather than preventing them. The handgrips should sit at wrist level when the patient stands upright with arms hanging loose. Ask the doctor or the physiotherapist which type is right before you buy one — a rollator given to someone who cannot control the brakes is more dangerous than no aid at all.

Nebuliser. Rinse the cup and the mouthpiece or mask after every single use and let them dry; an uncleaned cup delivers bacteria straight into the lungs. Never share a cup or mask between people, even inside one family.

Rent or buy: how to decide

The rule is duration, plus one question about the person.

• Rent when the need has an end — a recovery, a post-surgical period, a stretch of rehabilitation — and the item is large, mechanical and serviceable. You avoid servicing, storing and disposing of it afterwards.
• Buy when the item is fitted to the person or goes against their skin and airway, or when the need has no end date and the item will simply stay in daily use.

Families often buy a hospital bed for a short recovery and then spend months trying to sell it, and just as often they try to borrow a walker set for somebody a head taller. If you are budgeting for staff at home alongside the equipment, see home nursing cost in Bangalore.

Delivery, setup and support

• Delivery across Bangalore, with the item carried in and set up in the room where it will be used, not left at the door.
• Demonstration to whoever will be operating it — family, attendant or nurse — before we leave.
• Servicing on rented equipment for as long as you have it, and we replace an item where a repair is not practical.
• Collection of rented items at the end, so nobody is left arranging disposal.
• Purchased items stay with you — the air mattress, the walker and the nebuliser are yours, and we show you how to look after them.

What to have ready before delivery

A few minutes of preparation saves a failed delivery and a second trip.

• The floor number, and whether the lift is working.
• Lift and doorway widths if a hospital bed is coming — beds do not fold to fit a narrow turn.
• A power point close to where a concentrator, a BiPAP machine or an air mattress pump will sit, as these run continuously.
• The room cleared enough for a bed or a chair to be reached from both sides.
• The patient’s weight if an air mattress is being set up, and their height if a walker is being fitted.
• Whoever will operate the equipment present at delivery, so the demonstration reaches the right person.
• The prescription or discharge summary for oxygen, BiPAP or CPAP settings.

Equipment is only part of the plan

Most families setting up equipment also need people. Home nursing, a patient attendant or physiotherapy at home can be arranged in the same plan, rather than handling several vendors in the middle of a discharge. For someone who will be in bed throughout, it is usually arranged as bedridden patient care at home, and the equipment list follows from the care plan.

Whatever the mix, our part is the same: we supply it, we set it up, we show you how it works, and we stay reachable. We support the family and the treating team — the clinical decisions stay with your doctor.

Important

Frequently asked questions