TRANSPORT SOLUTIONS
Dealing with heavier patients is becoming a priority for anyone responsible for moving people in the health sector, saysKieren Gibson, director of Acute Ambulance & Medical Services.
M
ore than eight million people in Britain - nearly a quarter of the
adult population - are classified as clini- cally obese. With childhood obesity levels also rising, the needs of heavier patients and those caring for them have to be ad- dressed.
Greater weight increases the risk of injury to the people responsible for moving, han- dling and caring for these patients, so it is essential that adequate training is given in safe patient moving and handling tech- niques.
Some of the tasks that present extra chal- lenges when dealing with obese patients include the turning and repositioning in bed to prevent pressure sores; the trans- ferring in and out of beds or chairs and transferral to and from hospital.
At the same time, there are environmen- tal issues, including the strength of equip- ment, doorway clearance, size, manoeu- vrability and the capability of moving and
handling equipment, which need to be addressed in the management of bariatric patients.
Acute Ambulance & Medical Services (AAMS) are tackling the challenge of mov- ing and handling heavier patients and have designed and produced an ambulance trol- ley cot capable of safely transporting pa- tients up to 50 stone in weight.
There are also issues of size. Traditionally, ambulance stretchers have been quite nar- row and can be very uncomfortable for a lot of patients, but the new AAMS ambu- lance stretcher has expanding side rails with additional bolster cushions in order to help maintain the patient’s dignity and comfort during transport.
The unit also has powered legs to alleviate potential strain on the ambulance crews re- sponsible for caring for the patient. These legs are adjustable either through buttons on the stretcher handles, or through a sep- arate remote control. The function allows
the crews to remain focused on one par- ticular task whilst loading and unloading the patients to and from the ambulance.
This stretcher has been developed to be a cost effective solution for all ambulance transport situations and is compliant with a standard ambulance working environment.
The capacity to adjust width according to the size of patients and the provision for heavier patients to be transported safely and comfortably make this solution an ex- cellent addition to any ambulance fleet.
AAMS will be using the stretcher as part of its own fleet and will launch a specialist bariatric transport service later this year.
The stretcher is to undergo testing to meet British standards of safety and will go on sale in the third quarter of 2011.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
T: 0845 686 0301 W:
www.aams-amb.co.uk
national health executive Mar/Apr 11 | 55
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