Bedpans in Nursing & Clinical Care: How to Use, Choose & Reprocess (2026)

Placing a bedpan correctly is a core skill taught in nursing education – and one of the most intimate moments of daily care. Good preparation eases the situation for everyone: perform hand hygiene and put on gloves, protect the bed with an absorbent underpad, keep the bedpan within reach (warm a stainless steel pan with warm water and dry it if needed) and calmly explain each step to the person. Close the door, use a privacy screen and fold the covers back only as far as necessary – protecting dignity is part of good professional care, not an optional extra.

Bridging technique: when the person can assist

1. Lower the head of the bed, ask the person to bend their knees and place their feet flat on the mattress.
2. The person lifts their pelvis (“bridge”); support under the sacrum with one hand if needed.
3. Slide the bedpan under the buttocks flat edge first, with the wider seating surface towards the back.
4. Check the position: the buttocks sit centred over the opening with no pinching or pressure points.

Side-lying (rolling) technique: for immobile persons

1. Carefully roll the person onto their side, towards you or towards a second caregiver.
2. Press the bedpan firmly against the buttocks and hold it in place with one hand.
3. Roll the person back onto the pan in one calm, coordinated movement.
4. Check the fit and adjust gently without dragging the pan across the skin.

Then raise the head of the bed slightly if medically appropriate – a semi-upright position makes elimination noticeably easier. Leave the call bell within reach and give the person privacy if it is safe to do so. To remove the pan, reverse the same technique, keeping it level and steady to avoid spills. Clean and dry the skin thoroughly, close the bedpan with its lid and take it away for reprocessing.

Both materials have their place – the right choice depends on the care setting and on how the bedpan will be reprocessed. The overview below compares bedpans made of plastic with lid and of stainless steel with lid:

In short: the lightweight plastic model has clear advantages in home care and for frequent repositioning, while clinics and facilities with machine reprocessing and sterilisation requirements often prefer stainless steel. HaseMed offers both variants in a standard length of approx. 31 cm.

A well-fitting lid is more than an accessory: it reduces odours and splashes on the way to the sluice or disposal room, protects the surroundings and preserves the dignity of the person being cared for – especially in shared rooms or when visitors are around. Both HaseMed bedpans therefore come with a lid as standard.

Simple routines make the biggest difference: close the used bedpan immediately and empty it promptly rather than leaving it uncovered in the room. After cleaning, let the pan and lid dry separately and completely – trapped moisture under the lid encourages odour build-up. Briefly airing the room after care is part of the routine, too.

Persistent smells usually come not from the material itself but from residues in scratches or under rims. Thorough brushing, regular disinfection and – for old, heavily scratched plastic pans – simply replacing the item are the most effective remedies. Heavily perfumed sprays only mask the problem and are no long-term solution.

In clinics and nursing homes, bedpans are usually reprocessed by machine in a bedpan washer-disinfector (a washer-disinfector for human waste containers), whose requirements are described in DIN EN ISO 15883-3, the German edition of the international standard. The machine empties, cleans and thermally disinfects in a closed process – without staff coming into contact with the contents.

The effectiveness of thermal disinfection is expressed by the A0 value, a parameter combining temperature and holding time. Which A0 value is required for bedpans is defined by the facility's hygiene plan based on the applicable recommendations; for waste containers, a value of at least A0 60 is common, with higher values where requirements are stricter.

Where full sterilisation is additionally required, stainless steel shows its strength: it is generally suitable for steam sterilisation per DIN EN ISO 17665 (Germany's edition of the international standard), while plastics are only temperature-resistant to a limited degree depending on the type. The manufacturer's instructions for the specific product and the local hygiene officers' specifications always take precedence.

There is no bedpan washer at home – but a fixed routine still achieves a good level of hygiene. The following sequence after every use has proven itself:

1. Put on gloves, empty the contents into the toilet and always carry the pan closed with its lid.
2. Rinse with cold water first – hot water coagulates protein-containing residues and makes them stick.
3. Clean thoroughly with a sanitary cleaner and a dedicated brush used only for this purpose, including under the rim and on the lid.
4. Disinfect regularly – and always when there is an infection in the household – with a suitable surface disinfectant, following the manufacturer's instructions on concentration and contact time.
5. Let pan and lid dry completely and store them dry; finish with hand hygiene.

Two points matter most: the bedpan does not belong in the dishwasher used for crockery, and brush and gloves should be reserved exclusively for this task. If an infectious illness has been diagnosed, ask the care team or practice for additional disinfection measures.

The rim of a bedpan naturally puts pressure on the sacrum and buttocks – exactly the regions already at risk of pressure injuries in bedbound persons. The rule is therefore: keep time on the bedpan as short as possible, do not leave the person on it unobserved for longer periods, and never drag the pan across the skin – lift and reposition instead.

After every use, clean the skin, dry it gently and take a brief look: moisture from urine or perspiration softens the skin and further increases the risk. Watch for areas of redness that do not fade shortly after pressure is relieved – this can be an early warning sign.

To put this in perspective: these notes do not replace an individual assessment. If redness persists or pressure marks and sore areas appear, a nurse or physician should assess the skin promptly – pressure injury prevention is always an overall strategy of positioning, skin care, nutrition and suitable aids.

Many hospitals use single-use bedpans made of moulded pulp (cellulose): they are placed in a reusable support and, after use, disposed of together with their contents in a macerator. The advantage is obvious – no reprocessing of the pan itself, which is particularly valued in isolation care and during outbreaks. The prerequisite, however, is the matching disposal technology, which practically never exists in the home setting.

Reusable bedpans made of plastic or stainless steel are the solution for home care and for facilities with bedpan washers: they can be reused for a long time and avoid ongoing consumable demand and waste – but they require consistent cleaning and disinfection as described in the previous sections. For most care households, a good reusable bedpan with a lid is the more practical choice.

At first glance bedpans look much alike – the differences are in the details. These points help with the choice:

• Size: Around 31 cm in length is the standard for adults; the pan should cover the buttocks securely without being unnecessarily wide.
• Shape: A flattened, low front rim makes positioning easier – important with pain, after surgery and where there is a pressure injury risk.
• Stability and load capacity: The pan must not twist under load; for higher body weights, choose a suitably sturdy design and check the manufacturer's specifications.
• Handles or grip zones: A grippy rim or moulded grip areas make sliding the pan in and carrying it out level considerably safer.
• Lid: Practically indispensable for odour control and discreet transport – ideally close-fitting and easy to remove.
• Material and reprocessing: Plastic for easy handling at home, stainless steel for machine reprocessing and sterilisation (see the material comparison above).
• Smooth surface with few joints: The fewer edges and recesses, the easier the cleaning.

In Germany, a bedpan can be considered a care aid under Section 40 of the German Social Code Book XI (§ 40 SGB XI) in the context of home care – whether and in what form depends on the individual case, in particular on the recognised care grade and the care situation at home. The decision rests with the responsible care insurance fund.

The practical route: talk to the care insurance fund, your care service or a medical supply store before buying, and ask which documents are required and whether cost coverage or a subsidy is possible in your specific case. In other countries, the local payer or health insurer decides under its own rules. This information is general guidance and does not replace binding advice from your payer.

In nursing homes and hospitals, hygiene quality depends less on the individual bedpan than on the organisation around it. Three levers have proven effective:

Standardisation: Using one uniform model across the ward simplifies machine reprocessing (matching racks in the bedpan washer), stock keeping and the onboarding of new colleagues. Lids also remain interchangeable when all pans are of the same type.

Labelling: Depending on the hygiene concept, bedpans are either assigned to individual residents and marked accordingly, or centrally reprocessed after every use and returned to the general pool. What matters is a clear separation of clean and dirty – both spatially and in the workflow.

Shift routines: Clear responsibilities prevent used pans from being left standing: who empties, who takes items to reprocessing, where is the clean stock kept? A sufficient number of pans per unit – including a reserve for night and weekend shifts – is as much a part of this as the rule that every transport along the corridor happens with the lid on.

HaseMed offers both variants described in this guide – each with a lid and in the proven standard length of approx. 31 cm:

• HaseMed Bedpan with Lid, Plastic, 31 cm – lightweight, break-resistant and resistant to common cleaning agents and disinfectants; the first choice for home care and mobile use.
• HaseMed Bedpan with Lid, Stainless Steel, approx. 31 cm – rustproof, with a tightly closing lid and smooth, easy-care surfaces; ideal for facilities with demanding reprocessing requirements.

You will find further aids for care in bed – from urine bottles to incontinence products – in the category Care & Incontinence. And if only urine needs to be collected, have a look at our guide to urinals & urine bottles.