Hospital Bedsheet Sizes: How to Size Sheets to Your Beds and Mattresses

The right hospital bedsheet size is worked out from your own mattresses, not taken from a catalogue. Measure the length, width and depth of each mattress type, add the tuck-in your staff need on every side, allow for shrinkage in the laundry, and specify the finished size after washing. Do this per bed type, because one "standard" sheet rarely fits every ward.

This post covers how to measure, how to calculate flat and fitted sheet sizes, and how to keep the number of sizes manageable.

Why a single standard size rarely works

Hospitals tend to collect bed types over the years. A single facility may have electric profiling beds on the wards, deeper pressure-relieving mattresses in high-dependency areas, examination couches in outpatients, trolleys in emergency and recovery, cots in paediatrics and wider beds for bariatric patients.

Each of those has a different length, width and, most importantly, depth. A sheet that fits a thin ward mattress can come up short on a thick pressure-relieving mattress, and a profiling bed changes shape when the backrest or knee section is raised, which pulls on the sheet. Too short, and the sheet slips loose and wrinkles under the patient. Too long, and it bunches, wastes fabric and takes longer to fold and dry.

So the first job is not choosing a size. It is finding out which bed and mattress types you actually have.

How to measure your mattresses

Measure a few mattresses of each type rather than relying on one, as older mattresses can compress and newer replacements may differ.

1. List bed types by ward. Note the bed model and mattress model where you can see them on labels.
2. Measure length from head end to foot end along the top surface.
3. Measure width across the top surface at the middle.
4. Measure depth from the top surface to the base at the side.
5. Check with the bed profiled. Raise the backrest and knee break and see how much extra the sheet has to cover.
6. Record everything in one sheet, in centimetres, with the ward and bed count.

If the mattress has a removable cover, measure with the cover on, because that is what the sheet goes over. Your biomedical or estates team may also have the manufacturer's specifications, which are a useful cross-check against your measurements.

Calculating flat sheet sizes

A flat sheet needs to cover the top surface, run down both sides and both ends, and tuck under the mattress far enough to stay put when the bed moves.

A simple way to work it out:

• Finished width = mattress width + (2 × depth) + (2 × tuck-in)
• Finished length = mattress length + (2 × depth) + (2 × tuck-in)

The tuck-in allowance is a local decision. Ask the nurses who make the beds how much they need for a secure fold and for mitred corners, then test it on a sample. Profiling beds generally need a more generous allowance than fixed beds.

Here is a worked example using made-up measurements, to show the arithmetic only. Use your own figures.

Step	Width	Length
Mattress top surface	90 cm	200 cm
Add depth on both sides or ends (2 × 15 cm)	30 cm	30 cm
Add tuck-in on both sides or ends (2 × 25 cm)	50 cm	50 cm
Finished size after washing	170 cm	280 cm

Then add the expected shrinkage to get the cut size the supplier works from. The supplier should be able to tell you how much the chosen fabric typically shrinks; your wash test on a sample confirms it.

Calculating fitted sheet sizes

A fitted sheet is sized to the mattress itself, plus a corner pocket deep enough to wrap under the mattress edge.

• Finished width = mattress width (plus a small ease allowance)
• Finished length = mattress length (plus a small ease allowance)
• Corner depth = mattress depth + an underturn so the elastic sits beneath the mattress

The corner depth is where most fitted sheets go wrong. If it is too shallow, the elastic rides up onto the sleeping surface, the sheet pops off when the bed is profiled, and the elastic wears out quickly. If you have mattresses of different depths on the same ward, size the corner for the deepest one or make a separate size.

Whether to use fitted sheets at all is a separate decision, covered in flat vs fitted hospital sheets.

Draw sheets, couch sheets and other sizes

Bedsheets are only part of the picture. Other items need their own sizes:

• Draw sheets go across the middle of the bed and tuck in at the sides. Their width is set by the mattress width plus both side drops and tuck-ins; their depth is set by the area they need to cover. See draw sheets explained.
• Couch and trolley sheets are usually narrower and may be flat or fitted depending on how the couch is cleaned and turned around between patients.
• Paediatric cot sheets follow the same method with much smaller figures. Measure each cot model.
• Bariatric mattresses are wider and often deeper, so they almost always need their own sizes.

Keeping the number of sizes under control

Measuring every bed carefully can produce a long list of slightly different sizes. That is hard for the laundry to sort and for stores to manage. Once you have your measurements, group them.

• Combine bed types whose finished sizes differ by only a few centimetres into one size that fits the larger of the group.
• Keep separate sizes only where the difference affects fit, such as much deeper mattresses or bariatric beds.
• Label each size clearly so the laundry can sort it without measuring.

A hospital with many bed models may end up with a handful of flat sheet sizes and a smaller number of fitted sizes. That is easier to manage than one size that fits nothing well, or a dozen sizes nobody can tell apart.

Labelling sizes so the laundry can sort them

Sizes only help if people can tell them apart after washing. Size labels sewn into a corner, coloured hem threads or borders, or a printed size mark all make sorting faster. Combine the size label with your facility name or ward marking so one label does both jobs. Our post on marking hospital linen covers the methods.

Confirm sizes with a sample and a wash test

Before a bulk order, ask for a sample of each size and test it properly:

1. Wash and dry the sample several times through your normal laundry process.
2. Measure it again and compare against your specified finished size.
3. Put it on the actual bed and mattress, including with the bed profiled.
4. Ask the nursing staff who make beds whether the tuck-in is enough.
5. Record the approved size and keep the sample.

If the sheet comes up short or long, adjust the cut size before bulk production. Once approved, the specification should stay on record with your supplier so reorders match.

A short sizing checklist

• Bed and mattress types listed by ward, with counts
• Length, width and depth measured for each, with covers on
• Tuck-in allowance agreed with nursing staff
• Corner depth for fitted sheets based on the deepest mattress in each group
• Expected shrinkage confirmed with the supplier
• Sizes grouped to keep the list manageable
• Size labelling agreed with the laundry
• Samples wash-tested and fitted on real beds

Ordering sheets made to your sizes

Hospital sheets can be cut to your bed and mattress sizes, in cotton or poly-cotton, with size and ward labels. Send your measurements and bed counts through contact, or see the range on our hospital linen page, and we will prepare a quotation and sample.