We must be bored!
Folks, surely we can get onto something more interesting than a debate over
10kgs either way, but hey I'm up for it, lets bounce this around a little shall we?
160 kgs you quote.
~110kg patient + 40kg gear/bridge = 150kg......with 10kg left over to allow for the fact that many patients are 10kg or more heavier than quoted by the refering hospital. Now as you can tell I'm no rocket scientist but that = ~ the 160kgs you quote the stretcher being rated at.
Boring!!!! If you're still awake.
The 'mega lift' stretcher may well be an under utilised option as you suggest, but why is that so?
May I be so bold as to suggest that 4 flight crew, assisted by 2 (untrained) orderlies being asked to lift wieghts of greater than 160kg (lets say the 220kgs 'they' say is OK) to chest height in order to load the patient/bridge/gear into the back of an aircraft is in my humble opinion placing the patient and crews at an
unnecessary risk of injury, when there is no evidence of these patients experiencing a poorer outcome as the result of travelling by road. What's the basis of all this haste to move the patient and is it worth injury to your crew?
Basic maths says we're talking about an awkward lift at about 26 to 40kg per man/woman.
If you think the risk is minimal do a survey on how many of your colleagues have experienced back injuries and hernias from these types of activities.
If folks reckon they know better and that I'm sounding a little 'soft' then why are bags of cement/concrete only 20kgs and not more. I doubt that brickies labourers are soft!
It's not the job of Medical/Flight crews to accept responsibility for every Patient that a hospital decides can't wait for a road ambulance to transfer.
You just don't need to take that responsibility.
As I suggested previously if patient is delayed due to weather causing and unacceptable risk, it is accepted and an other means of tranfer is arranged and no there's harm is done.
I'm sure that there are folks out there that will feel the need to have the last say on this but quite frankly I'm more than a lttle over it!
But go ahead.
Better still though, If you know how it is being done better elsewhere great! Post a picture or an idea and lets do it better too.
Otherwise lets all move on and get onto some ways of improving what we do. We can even have a laugh
That's my 99cents worth...you can keep the change.
folald (
flat
out
like
a lizard
drinking)