The short answer
One company, several names: Griffiths and Johnson, G & J Logistics, GJ Medical, Bradfern
Buyers searching for support run into four names, and search engines treat them as four companies. They are one story. Griffiths and Johnson Ltd was founded in Oldham in 1959. The trading business G & J Logistics Ltd, also Oldham, used the GJ Medical name for its healthcare furniture and bought the Bradfern manufacturing rights from Bradfern Ltd of Rochdale in 2009. Bradfern is therefore a product range, not a separate maker, and the chairs carry Bradfern, GJ Medical or G & J branding depending on their age. Common misspellings that lead nowhere: "Bradford chairs" and "Griffith and Johnson".
In August 2025 the business entered administration. As of September 2026 we have found no public announcement of a successor offering parts or service for the range. If that changes, this page will say so.
Identify your chair: the documented Bradfern models
The model name is usually on a label under the seat or on the frame crossbar. If it has gone, the wheel sizes and features below will get you close, and a photo will settle it.
| Model | Type | Documented features |
|---|---|---|
| Bolton | Portering chair (A&E, maternity) | 200 mm front wheels, 200 mm braked rear castors; fixed arms, tip-up footboard, X-ray and document pocket; about 34 kg |
| London | Heavy-duty non-folding portering chair | 200 mm front and rear wheels; integral drip pole; tip-back footboard; about 27 kg |
| Glasgow, Bowlee, York, Escort Lite, Easy Glide | Portering chairs | Tubular steel frames, vinyl seat and back, braked castors; the York runs on 315 mm rear wheels |
| Porta 212 | Semi-nesting portering chair | Rated to 30 stone; drop-down arms, sliding footrest, baggage hooks |
| Porta Bariatric | Bariatric semi-nesting chair | Rated to 40 stone (about 254 kg) |
| Royal Nesting | Front-steer nesting chair | 100 mm non-marking cushion-tyred front castors, 200 mm rear wheels with adjustable brake assembly; flip-up arms |
| Economy Transit | Transit chair | 100 mm front castors, 300 mm solid-tyred braked rear wheels |
| Options and Classic Compact | High-back ward day chairs | Steel frame, flame-retardant upholstery, two rear transport wheels |
| Phlebotomy and treatment chair | Blood-taking and minor treatment | Reclining backrest with seat and legrest profiling on gas struts; adjustable, replaceable arm pads; removable step; optional IV pole and seat belt |
| Easi-Clean Sanichair | Commode and sanitary chair | Four braked castors, anti-bacterial fold-up seat and lid, cantilever fold-up armrests |
| Mattress trolley | Mattress transport trolley | Made in small numbers; steel frame on castors. Castors, brakes and frame repairs as for the chairs |
Specifications are taken from the manufacturer's own archived product descriptions. Where a chair in your fleet differs, the chair wins.
What fails first on a fleet that is five to sixteen years old
Bradfern-branded chairs were sold under G & J from 2009 to 2025, and under Bradfern Ltd before that, so most of the installed base is now well into its wear-out years. The failures are predictable and, with one exception, cheap to fix.
| Part | What goes wrong, and the fix |
|---|---|
| Castors, wheels and brake assemblies | Constant floor contact. Braked rear castors and 200 mm wheels wear, seize and lose braking. These are standard industrial castor sizes and can be replaced like for like. |
| Vinyl upholstery and foam | Cleaning chemicals harden and crack vinyl; tears are an infection-control failure. Re-covered in healthcare vinyl meeting Crib 5 (BS 5852) and BS 7176 medium hazard, over combustion-modified foam, with the certificates supplied. |
| Gas struts | On phlebotomy and tilting treatment chairs the strut loses pressure and the backrest will not hold. Replaced with a strut of matching stroke and force. |
| Arm caps, arm pads and footboards | Cracked, missing or bent. Pads are re-covered or replaced; footboards and footrests are straightened, re-welded or remade. |
| IV pole mounts, seat belts, document pockets | Small parts that stop a chair being used. Matched or made. |
| Frame joints | On heavy A&E and bariatric use, welded joints fatigue. Inspected, and repaired by a coded welder where the frame is sound enough to keep in service. Where it is not, we say so. |
Can a hospital chair be re-upholstered, and what does infection control need to see?
Yes, and this is the objection to pre-empt. Department of Health guidance requires patient-area soft furnishings to be impermeable, wipe-clean, preferably seam-sealed, and compatible with the detergents and chlorine-releasing agents the ward uses. For fire, BS 7176:2007 classifies hospitals as medium hazard, which means upholstery composites must pass ignition source 5 of BS 5852, known as Crib 5, over combustion-modified high-resilience foam.
No national rule prohibits re-covering clinical seating. What an infection prevention and control team will ask for is paperwork: the Crib 5 and BS 7176 certificates for the vinyl and foam used, a cleanability and chemical-compatibility statement, and evidence of seam integrity. A re-upholsterer who cannot produce those should not be re-covering hospital chairs. TrueNorth supplies that pack with every re-covered chair.
Is a repaired portering chair a medical device?
A manual portering chair, day chair or commode is generally furniture, not a medical device, and repairing or re-covering it does not bring it under the UK Medical Devices Regulations 2002. That is why these chairs usually sit outside the trust's medical-device asset register, and why many estates teams cannot say how many they own. The position changes where a product is presented for a medical purpose or a regulated device is materially altered, so a powered or lifting variant should be assessed on its own. We do not remanufacture regulated devices, and we will tell you if a chair falls on the wrong side of that line.
Repair or replace: the case an estates manager can forward
A comparable new attendant-propelled portering chair lists at roughly £800 to £1,000 excluding VAT from UK suppliers in 2025, with bariatric and powered models well above that. A castor set, a brake service, a gas strut or a re-cover costs a fraction of that, and it comes out of a revenue budget rather than a capital business case. Keeping a proven chair in service also avoids the embodied carbon of a new steel frame, which is the direction the NHS net zero programme pushes every trust.
Under the Procurement Act 2023, in force since February 2025, spares and repairs for a chair fleet fall far below the threshold at which a public contract must be competed. NHS bodies are treated as central government for that threshold, which is £139,688 including VAT for 2024/25 and £135,018 from 1 January 2026, per SI 2025/1200. In practice a trust buys on a purchase order against a written quote under its own standing financial instructions. Check the current figures with your procurement team; they change periodically.
How to get started
- Count the chairs, or ask us to. A fleet survey records model, condition and needs per chair, and produces the inventory most trusts do not have.
- Send photos of the worst ones and the label, with the castor size.
- Get a written quote within 48 hours, itemised so it can go straight to a purchase order.
Start on the Bradfern spares and repair page.
Bradfern and G&J chairs: the questions we are asked
Griffiths and Johnson of Oldham, trading as G & J Logistics and GJ Medical, made the Bradfern range of hospital chairs and entered administration in August 2025. The company no longer supports the chairs, and as of September 2026 no successor has publicly announced parts or service support for the range. The chairs remain in service in NHS trusts and care settings and can be repaired with compatible parts. TrueNorth Engineering in Manchester supplies those parts and does the repairs; it is not the manufacturer and holds no rights in the name. TrueNorth Engineering in Manchester supplies those parts and does the repairs; it is not the manufacturer and holds no rights in the name.
They are one connected business and one product line. Griffiths and Johnson Ltd was founded in Oldham in 1959; G & J Logistics Ltd traded its healthcare furniture as GJ Medical and acquired the Bradfern manufacturing rights in 2009. Bradfern is the product range, not a separate maker. 'Bradford chairs' and 'Griffith and Johnson' are common misspellings.
Yes. The running gear is standard industrial stock: 100 mm, 200 mm and 300 mm castors and wheels, brake assemblies, gas struts. TrueNorth Engineering in Manchester supplies compatible spares made or sourced to fit, and fits them. TrueNorth is not the manufacturer and holds no rights in the Bradfern name.
Look for the label under the seat or on the frame crossbar. Failing that, match the wheel sizes and features in the model table on this page: for example 200 mm wheels front and rear with an integral drip pole is the London; 100 mm front castors with 200 mm rear wheels and flip-up arms is the Royal Nesting. A photo settles it.
Yes. Hospitals are classified as medium hazard under BS 7176, so the cover and foam composite must pass ignition source 5 of BS 5852, known as Crib 5. Healthcare vinyls and combustion-modified foams that meet this are readily available. Your infection prevention team will want the certificates, a cleanability statement and sealed seams; ask for all three from whoever re-covers the chair. TrueNorth Engineering re-covers Bradfern chairs to this specification and supplies the certificates with each chair. TrueNorth Engineering re-covers Bradfern chairs to this specification and supplies the certificates with each chair.
Generally no. A manual portering chair, day chair or commode is furniture, so repair and re-upholstery do not bring it under the UK Medical Devices Regulations 2002. Powered or lifting variants, or anything presented for a medical purpose, should be assessed individually, and a regulated device should not be remanufactured and put back into use without meeting the regulations.
On a purchase order against a written quote, under the trust's standing financial instructions. Spares and repairs are revenue spend and fall far below the Procurement Act 2023 threshold for NHS bodies, £139,688 including VAT in 2024/25 and £135,018 from 1 January 2026, so no framework or competition is needed at fleet-repair values. Check the current figure with procurement. TrueNorth Engineering quotes in writing within 48 hours for exactly this route. TrueNorth Engineering quotes in writing within 48 hours for exactly this route.