Side load ambulance

[CBEMT]

And did you notice that they very conveniently don't show the head of the cot?

The second photo does. The rounded end of a Ferno is the head end.

How much room does side-loading allow me for airway management?

Not much.

It looks like that would put me right up against a door, which is exactly where I do NOT want to be.

That's exactly where it puts you.

Other than that I like it. Too bad it's got that fatal flaw.

[Scaramedic]

This is just plain stupid. How are you going to load if your on the side of a highway. Park the unit eight feet onto the highway to do avoid a guardrail? Put the patient in from the other side and place them eight feet onto the highway?

Also if your sitting on the back side, the normal position to face a patient in the left lateral recumbent idea, and get rear ended hard your toast. You would be sitting with your back an area that tends to crush like a beer can. They mention frontal impacts multiple times, apparently they fail to realize that an ambulance is more likely going to take a rear hit when parked on the side of a highway.

Finally what forces are going to effect the patient. Now when the vehicle is slowing down the patient feels the pressure pushing them into the cot towards the head. In this vehicle the patient is going to be feeling lateral pressure. If you think boarded patients are paranoid now about falling off imagine them lying sideways.

I put this up there with the fire truck/ambulance, thought up but never thought out.

[Dustdevil]

The second photo does. The rounded end of a Ferno is the head end.

Yeah, I meant the area at the head, not the actual cot head itself. From that angle, it could be deceiving, and concealing a nice, three-foot work space. But I doubt it.

I'm with ya, Marty. This design puts me in the middle of the street, or off in the mud, or in a bar ditch on way too many runs, creating a new danger for me. Not to mention how often people are going to park right in front of my loading doors. We're going to have to have fire engines block off the lanes on either side of us at every scene just to be able to safely load the patient. With a rear load, there is ALWAYS room for me to get in and out, otherwise, I couldn't have driven in there in the first place (except for when the cops pull right up on my bumper and park, as like to do).

I'm happy to see that somebody is using their heads to try and find innovative solutions to the hazards that confront our profession. Outside the box thinking is good. And hey, they could possibly find some way to make this work out. But I don't see how.

[Edit note: I meant FAIL to JEMS in my original post, not FAIL to the manufacturer.]

[FireMedic65]

If you are going to boast about a side-load ambulance... at least show what you are boasting about. We all know what an ambulance looks like. The idea sounds good, but I still want to see what it looks like!

Cudos on the racing harness, lol

[JakeEMTP]

Meh, not impressed.

I don't like the idea of being in a ditch or the middle of the road endangering my patient and myself. I have to query as to just how much more storage do we actually need on an ambulance? from the photos provided, there appears to be even less actual room then we currently have, but maybe that's just the angle the pictures are taken from.

On the plus side, I do like the harness for the provider.

Is it just me or are the new Fords fugly?

I did notice this unit was unveiled at the Fire Department Instructors Conference. I'm sure they'll sell well.

[spenac]

With some refinements this could be the first major advance/change in the history of the ambulance. But I'm sure all will fight change because we've always done it the other way.

I want something safer than current. I would like to see an independent safety study of current styles vs this style. If This is safer we can learn how to safely load from the side can't we. To address the head issue for intubation perhaps slightly angling the patient rather than direct side to side.

[JPINFV]

Well, of course side loaders have worked so well for the squmpers.

http://www.emtcity.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4429

[spenac]

Those are fire truck conversions. They were not designed with medical professionals in mind.

If we can improve safety while maintaining or improving patient care I'm all for it.

[JPINFV]

My tongue was planted firmly in my cheek with that post.

[brentoli]

Oh no... he went there.....

Squmpers