Some patients are getting so fat that ambulance bosses are having to revamp their fleets to cope, the BBC has learned.
Every service in the UK has started buying specialist equipment, data from freedom of information requests show.
This includes wider stretchers, more lifting gear and reinforcing existing vehicles.
Many have also bought specialist "bariatric" ambulances - costing up to £90,000 each - to ferry the most obese.
These are designed so that double-width trolley stretchers for patients up to 50 stone (318kg) can be accommodated. They also tend to include hoists and inflatable lifting cushions.
Obesity rates
But the rising rates of obese and overweight patients mean even standard ambulances are having to be stocked with specialist equipment.
While these vehicles cannot take the full-range of kit that a bariatric ambulance can, they can often carry heavy-duty wheelchairs and stretchers as well as the lifting cushions on newer models. ...
via BBC News - Fat patients 'prompts ambulance fleet revamp'.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Fat patients prompt ambulance fleet revamp in UK
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1 comment:
Nonsense. Britain of course... What's next? Wider hospital doors? Wider toilets? Genetically engineered race of super strong nurses? The money should instead be invested in prevention, eduction and support of obese people. Treating the cause and not the symptoms. This is NOT helping.
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