Paramagic Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 The stretcher is secured by 2 2inch bolts through a piece of 3/4 inch plywood in every ambulance made. Oh come on! Now you're just being silly! Every ambulance made? Let's not turn this into any more of a farce than it already is. To those who claim my service is negligent or irresponsible, please tell me how many bariatric units each of your services have. If your service has not invested in this equipment, how are you superior to my service. I am guessing that 90% of you do not have this equipment, but I will wait to see how you respond. So to everyone who has commented in this thread, please respond back and tell us how many bariatric stretchers that your service has ? I am betting only 2-3 of you will have the guts to be honest and reply. Currently 4 with another 2 coming on line next year. We are also trialling lifting equipment for our regular rigs, not for dealing with bariatric patients per se, merely to ensure safety for our staff every day when lifting patients. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BushyFromOz Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 To those who claim my service is negligent or irresponsible, please tell me how many bariatric units each of your services have. If your service has not invested in this equipment, how are you superior to my service. Your service is negligent, it continually purchases and uses stretcher mounting and equipment restraints that are known to fail in moderate accidents, you advocate moving patients who are unrestrained thereby greatly increasing the risk of serious injury or death in moderate accients, and you bully your staff with threat of termination should they not choose to place patients at risk. What does this mean? We are right, your wrong and whoever you work for sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ERDoc Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 HLPP, in the end the number of bariatric units anyone has is irrelevant. The bottom line is, if you don't have the proper equipment, you don't do the transport. Let some other play cowboy on a transport that they are going to add extra risk to and are going to lose money on. Would you load a 1000lb pt into a helicopter that is rated for a 350lb pt? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief1C Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 Nearest Bariatric unit is 50+ miles. One of our cots is a 500lb; one is a 750lb. The mounts are steel; which are mounted to and bolted into steel mounts. Those are bolted to the module frame, with two, three inch bolts each. There are three of these at the head, and one of them on the locking post. Which itself is also bolted to the frame of the patient module. How do I know this? I watched them build the ambulance, one day at a time. However yours is installed, falls upon whom ever spec'd your ambulance. Mounts should always be installed by someone certified to do so. If yours are just screwed to the floor, perhaps the service is just cheap? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
island emt Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 I saw it completely opposite, the patient was still injured even though he was restrained properly to the stretcher. If the ambulance wrecks, I promise a lawsuit is coming no matter what. Yes there will be lawsuits after any ambulance crash. But when you as a manager are called to the bench to testify why you ordered your crew to toss the obese patient in the back on a mattress instead of having the properly designed equipment to perform the transfer safely, where do you think the judgement is going to fall. /You will be hung out to dry by the company and it's insurer. Try explaining how you can safely transport a obese pt laying down on the floor of an ambulance without causing respiratory distress on an already over whelmed pt. You repeatedly talk about the need to respect the dignity of Obese pt's yet you at the same time recommend hauling them like cargo??????? You pretend to be a manager and promote advocacy for your patients" how about advocating for your employees safety and dignity for a change! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asysin2leads Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 So this is what I've learned from the State of Georgia's website. 1. You have to wear a seatbelt in a motor vehicle if you are in the front seat. 2. You can't ride in the bed of a pickup truck on the interstate if you are under 18. You can ride on the interstate in the back of a pickup if you are over 18, or on back roads if under 18. 3. Ambulances are required to be equipped with seat belts for all passengers. I can't find anywhere it says conclusively that patients must be properly seat belted for transport, but I still have a sneaking suspicion that the State would go with #3 above when they were levying a hefty fine on you. The beauty part is that many times fines like that fall on the crew for engaging in an unsafe act rather than the company, even if the crew was under the threat of termination when doing so. Sucks, doesn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFIB Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 There is a relatively inexpensive solution to the problem. Instead of your service paying for a bariatric unit or expensive appropriate modifications to the ambulances, they could have all ambulances equipped with a trailer hitch. Hospitals could keep a flatbed trailer on stand by equiped with rachet straps for larger more difficult transports. You could even equip the trailer with a tarp in case it rains and a extra blanket for cold weather. Would that be cost effective enough? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ERDoc Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 There is a relatively inexpensive solution to the problem. Instead of your service paying for a bariatric unit or expensive appropriate modifications to the ambulances, they could have all ambulances equipped with a trailer hitch. Hospitals could keep a flatbed trailer on stand by equiped with rachet straps for larger more difficult transports. You could even equip the trailer with a tarp in case it rains and a extra blanket for cold weather. Would that be cost effective enough? Defib, I think you're on to something here. That would maintain the same amount of pt dignity as stuffing them onto the floor of the ambulance like cargo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFIB Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 Defib, I think you're on to something here. That would maintain the same amount of pt dignity as stuffing them onto the floor of the ambulance like cargo. My point exactly. Love the new avatar. Someone you know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ERDoc Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 We don't talk about how I met Harold. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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