Care home incontinence ordering is a resident-day calculation, not a purchasing preference: briefs are consumed at roughly four to six per resident per day, and underpads at one to two per bed per day depending on the care plan. A 60-bed Alberta home therefore works through about 600 briefs a day, which is ten 60-packs, and that single number sets every other decision on the order. The 
Day Pro adult briefs, 60 per pack are a reasonable reference product for building that calculation.
How many briefs does a care home use per resident day?
Four to six briefs per resident per day is the working range for a general nursing floor, with higher use on palliative, dementia and high-mobility-support units. The care plan, not the product, sets the number, so the honest way to size an order is to take the actual change count from the floor for one week.
Multiply that weekly count by the census, then by four to get a monthly figure. A 60-bed home at an average of five changes a day is 300 briefs a day, or 9,000 a month, which is 150 packs of 60. That is the number that makes a case count meaningful.
How many underpads should be stocked per bed?
One to two underpads per bed per day is typical where they are used under briefs for additional protection, and more where they are used as a primary absorbent layer. A 60-bed home at 1.5 per bed per day uses 90 a day, or about 2,700 a month.
Underpads are the line most often over-ordered, because a pack of 50 looks small next to a case of briefs. Counting them separately from briefs stops the storeroom filling with pads while the floor runs short of briefs.
| Item | Pack size | 60-bed home, per month | Par at two weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult briefs | 60 per pack | About 150 packs | 70 packs |
| Pull-on pants | 60 per pack | About 40 packs | 20 packs |
| Underpads 60 x 90 cm | 50 per pack | About 54 packs | 25 packs |
What belongs on the weekly count sheet?
Six lines: briefs by size, pull-on pants by size, underpads by size, wipes, gloves and liners. Count open cases plus sealed cases, and record the count on the same day each week so the trend line is comparable. Anything not counted weekly will drift until someone notices a floor is short.
Record the count in units, not cases. "Four boxes plus two open" is countable; "about half a case" is not, and the difference is exactly what causes emergency orders.
How much stock should a home hold?
Two weeks of floor stock plus one week in the central store is a workable rule for a home with reliable deliveries. Three months of stock ties up cash and storage, and in a home with limited space it also means boxes stored in corridors, which is a fire and infection risk rather than a supply strategy.
Size changes are the hidden variable. A home that shifts its mix from medium to large after a re-assessment can end up with months of the wrong size, so review the size mix quarterly against resident assessments rather than against the last order.
Where does a care home place the order?
Group purchasing, a provincial contract or a direct distributor account all work, provided the unit of measure is settled: case, pack and box are used interchangeably by different suppliers and the difference is a factor of ten on briefs. Confirm the count per pack in writing before comparing prices.
Multi-site operators can consolidate through wholesale and multi-site ordering so each home receives its own delivery against one account, which keeps the resident-day maths auditable per site. Reselling? become a distributor.
Related reading
sterilization monitoring collection; how often clinics restock briefs; glove par levels per chair per month; wholesale and multi-site ordering
Print the monthly supply checklist, size the next order with the clinic supply planner, and set up wholesale ordering so case pricing and account terms sit on one invoice.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many briefs should a 60-bed home order each month?
Around 9,000 briefs at five changes per resident day, which is about 150 packs of 60. Confirm with the floor change count before committing.
Should underpads be ordered with briefs?
Order both but count them separately. Underpads are the line most often over-ordered because the pack count looks small.
How much stock is too much?
More than two weeks on the floor plus one week in the store is usually storage cost, not safety stock, and it hides size-mix problems.
CliniEco Medical is a licensed medical device establishment (MDEL #35334).
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