Background to the invention It has long been an occupational hazard for nursing staff and carers dealing with people of limited mobility to lift and generally handle such people. Additionally many nursing staff are unaware of their patient's capacity for movement and may make some people overly dependent on them for fear of dropping the patient or some other accident occurring. This would of course impede any rehabilitation which could be achieved by a patient.

In particular, tasks such as lifting, showering and drying a person may require two nurses, or other staff, to both lift and support a person while simultaneously carrying out a task such as drying the person's body. Such awkward procedures contribute significantly to occupational hazards such as the development of back pain in nurses while the patient meanwhile may feel quite nervous and unstable while the procedure concerned is being carried out and lose confidence in their own ability to cope with such tasks. Various lifting devices for patients, particularly in hospitals and nursing homes, do exist however these tend to be cumbersome and still require manipulation of a patient into and out of such devices.

Many patients or elderly people are not totally incapacitated and if provided with appropriate structures should be able to either support themselves or assist in their own movement and support.

It is known for wall mounted bars to be provided in showers and toilets and such like to provide support for the users. Such wall mounted devices however cannot assist a patient in moving from a bed to a chair or onto crutches or whatever. Previous wall mounted devices also have not provided the capacity for a patient to lean in a stable fashion over them while being dried or otherwise tended to by a nurse.

Outline of the Invention It is an object of this invention to provide a stable support means, preferably used in association with a bed, which permits a user to more easily support their weight than other devices and thereby provide a person with the security of being self supporting and minimising the requirement for nursing staff to support the person while carrying out other tasks. From a health and safety viewpoint this is clearly desirable.

Additionally such support means would enable people who would not otherwise require nursing care to be more self sufficient and able to carry out various tasks for themselves in a more secure environment.

The invention inclues a support device for use by patients or others which is free standing when in use and is affixed to a stable object at a first end of the device and has at least one member outwardly directed from the stable object, said member terminating in a hand grip member at a second end of the device, such that a person can use it for leverage or support.

The free standing nature of the device permits the user to position their body at least partially over the support device thereby providing easier support.

Preferablythe hand grip would include a substantially horizontal member. The hand grip could however be of any desired shape.

Preferably such a support device would be attachable to the frame of a bed and could either be a permanent fixture of the bed or could be removably affixed to the bed.

It is also preferable that such a device be positioned adjacent a side of a bed to facilitate a person's ability to mobilise in and out of bed although, for drying and dressing purposes it may be desirable to have a support device located elsewhere. In order that the invention may be more readily understood we shall describe by way of non limiting example specific embodiments thereof in relation to the accompanying d rawings.

Brief Description of the Drawing Figures In these drawings : Fig. 1 Shows a perspective view of the support device as it would attach to the base of a bed.

Fig. 2 Shows a side view of the support device Fig. 3 Shows a cross-section through a clamp member of an embodiment of the invention.

In a first embodiment of the invention the support device 10 has an upright tubular member 20 joined at its upper end by a horizontal tubular member 30 such that the support device is effectively T shaped. Preferably for hospital use the device would be constructed of an appropriate grade of stainless steel.

In a preferred version of this embodiment of the invention the device is located on the base of a bed rail 11 with a clamp 40 and with the horizontal member 30 aligned parallel to one side of the bed when in use.

It is envisaged that this device could be either permanently mounted on a bed frame or be removably attached by a clamp or the like.

In this embodiment of the invention the clamp device 40 inclues side flanges 43 which are exterior to and pivotally connected to upright 20 through aperture 44 by means of a pin 42 passing through both the flanges and the tubular member 20. The part of the wall 41 of tubular member 20 which is adjacent the outer clamp member 45 is reinforced with additional steel which adds to the wall thickness in that area.

The tubular member 20 has extending from it a fixed clamp member comprised of an inwardly extending member 47 and a face 46 which is substantially parallel to movable face 45. The face 45 is able to move relative to face 46 through the depth of aperture 44 in flange 43. This movement is effected by a screw member 49 passing through tube 20 and wall 41 to abut the outer face of clamp member 45. The clamp can then be tightened or loosened by turning knob 48. In other embodiments of the invention a lever or other such device could be substituted for the knob described.

While the above described embodiment is of metal any material of sufficient strength to support a person could be used. In addition the type of clamp can be of any desired type.

In another embodiment of the invention the support device includes two upright tubular members joined at their upper ends by a horizontal tubular member. In a preferred version of this embodiment the device is aligned parallel to one side of the bed when in use but is rotatable about an upright located adjacent the foot of the bed so that the device can be turned to be parallel to the foot of the bed when not required.

It is envisaged that this device could be either permanently mounted on a bed frame or be removable from the pivot point described.

It is further envisaged that this embodiment of the invention could be provided with clamps near the bases of the uprights which would enable the device to be fixed to the frame of conventional or other beds.

In another embodiment of the invention where the support device takes the form of a single upright with a horizontal member attached at its upper end it is envisaged that the horizontal member may be moveable into a vertical position when not in use, or be telescopic, but otherwise be able to be locked into a horizontal position for use. It is also envisaged that any uprights could be telescopic and therefore ajustable to suit any particular person or bed.

In other embodiments of the invention a support device could be fixedly or removably attached elsewhere than to a bed and be positioned on a floor or other surface of a bathroom or other room as required. Basically the device would need to be positioned so that a person could be able to lean over the top of it for support unlike conventional handle type devices. This free standing feature of the invention enables a person to move their centre of gravity more over the support device and therefore provide easier support and more security for the user. Handle devices merely provide leverage and any support provided is determined by the user's strength.

It is also envisaged that a form of support device could be attached to a wall and be able to be pulled down into a position such that a patient was able to use it to be self supporting.

Whilst we have described herein several specific embodiments of the invention it is envisaged that other embodiments of the invention will exhibit any number of and any combination of the features previously described and it is to be understood that variations and modifications in this can be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.