Patient bed having vertically moveable mattress

A patient bed comprising castors resting against a floor and operatively attached through bed legs or a bed base frame to a bed framework, a planar support movably supported within said framework, a plurality of elongated mattress elements fixed to said planar support and forming a first supporting surface, adjacent mattress elements forming a furrow therebetween;

• and said bed framework comprising a framing to which are attached tubular slats, aligned parallel with the mattress elements and forming an essentially horizontal plane and second supporting surface in which each slat is aligned with a furrow formed between the mattress elements, wherein the patient bed further comprises means connected to said planar support for moving the mattress essentially in the vertical direction between a first position wherein said first supporting surface is above the horizontal plane formed by said slats with said slats being positioned in the furrows formed between mattress elements and a second position wherein said first supporting surface is below the horizontal plane formed by said slats and for stopping the mattress at a desired elevation between said two positions.