Tortoise Bed Turning & Positioning System

Repositioning a bed-bound patient every two hours is one of the hardest, most repetitive tasks in pressure injury prevention — and one of the toughest on caregivers' backs. The Molnlycke Tortoise Bed Turning & Positioning System was built to solve both problems at once: keeping patients safely offloaded while sparing staff the manual strain of hand-turning and pillow-stacking.

The Tortoise system uses a low-friction glide sheet paired with wedge supports to hold a patient in a stable 30-degree lateral tilt — the position clinicians target to relieve pressure over the sacrum and trochanters. Because the turn is achieved with a controlled glide rather than a full lift, one caregiver can often reposition a patient who previously required two, reducing shear on fragile skin in the process. That combination of offloading and shear reduction is central to any facility's pressure ulcer prevention protocol.

We stock two configurations in this collection, reference 1400800 and 1400801, which differ in size and support components to fit different patient builds and bed setups. If you're outfitting a unit, it's worth confirming mattress width and patient weight range before ordering so the wedges seat correctly and the tilt holds through a shift.

The Tortoise is a strong fit for long-term care, acute wards, and home settings where a patient spends extended time in bed and turn schedules are unavoidable. It works alongside — not in place of — a good support surface, so pair it with a quality mattress or overlay from our mattress overlays range, and explore related beds & bedside equipment to complete the setup.