The bed (1) has a lying surface bordered by a longitudinal edge and two transverse edges e.g. leading edge and foot edge. A retractable head barrier (6) is placed along the longitudinal edge and comprises a front end closer to the leading edge than a rear end. A mattress is laid on an upper frame (4). The barrier is removably provided with tubular elements (8, 10) and tubular connection elements (12-14) mutually articulated with respect to the frame about transverse axles (9, 11, 15, 20). The barrier has an annular handle (21) with square contour to assist recovery of a patient.