The Turning Clock: What Interval the Lying Surface Implies, and What the Turns Cost a Caregiver Each Day

This simulated study asks how often a person who cannot move must be turned, given the surface underneath them, and what that schedule costs the person doing the turning. For a patient of 70 kg, stated interface pressures, a capillary threshold of 32 mmHg, and a stated damage limit of 80 mmHg·h above that threshold, the heel is the limiting site on every surface examined. Bare boards with a blanket permit a recommended interval of 1.0 hours, requiring 24.0 turns per day and 4.8 caregiver hours per day spent turning alone. Foam of 5 cm permits 2.0 hours, 12.0 turns, and 2.4 hours. Foam of 10 cm permits 3.0 hours, 8.0 turns, and 1.6 hours. An air-cell arrangement permits 4.0 hours under a stated practical cap, 6.0 turns, and 1.2 hours. No surface was built or tested, and no pressure was measured; all values follow from the stated assumptions.