2 of 5: My first Trolley Cot.
Today was fun. We had a lecture through the morning and up to lunch about communication and the various ways on how to manually handle a patient safely and correctly. Again I sat at the front.
The afternoon involved getting acquainted with the various stretchers LAS use. The first is the one the new Mercedes use, its all hydraulic and easy to use, unlike its equivalent in the LDV's. These ones seem a world away, no high-tech equipment, just metal tubing and a mattress. Guess which one I liked best?
It was lovely to open the back of the Merc, pull out the lift and stretcher, lower it and discover that somebody hadn't cleaned it properly. Cue blood in all the little nooks and crannys that should have been cleaned but weren't. Also cue an officer trying to show us said piece of kit getting slightly angry, taking fleet number of said vehicle and tracing back who used it last. Needless to say I think heads will be rolling...
(tomorrow I'll do Lola's tagged thing)
The afternoon involved getting acquainted with the various stretchers LAS use. The first is the one the new Mercedes use, its all hydraulic and easy to use, unlike its equivalent in the LDV's. These ones seem a world away, no high-tech equipment, just metal tubing and a mattress. Guess which one I liked best?
It was lovely to open the back of the Merc, pull out the lift and stretcher, lower it and discover that somebody hadn't cleaned it properly. Cue blood in all the little nooks and crannys that should have been cleaned but weren't. Also cue an officer trying to show us said piece of kit getting slightly angry, taking fleet number of said vehicle and tracing back who used it last. Needless to say I think heads will be rolling...
(tomorrow I'll do Lola's tagged thing)
posted by Carmelo @ 8:19 pm
2 Comments:
At 9:08 am,
Dianne said…
eew!
That sounds like an infection waiting to happen!
I think you liked the 'metal tubing and mattress' stretcher best, am i right? ;~) ,lol.
At 10:37 pm,
Magwitch said…
Ambulances are a nightmare for infection. Stretchers (trolley cots) seem to be designed by people who've never had to clean the blood, vomit and other bodily fluids that get 'spilt' over them. Trouble is the only way to clean them properly is to take them apart and pressure hose them. It ain't gonna happen after a job.
Imagine its Friday evening, you've just picked up some scroat who's pissed out of his head and has a head injury. It's a good chance that blood and vomit will get on the trolley. Outside A&E it's dark, there's no hose, only a bucket and a mop/cloth if you're lucky and Control are on the radio trying to give you another job. Trust me, the trolley won't get cleaned properly. By the next morning you're shattered and just want to get home. No one's going to stay and clean up.
I cleaned up the back of a motor for a crew the other week after they'd had a stabbing in the back. It took me over 3 hours. It was a quiet Sunday. There's no way you can ever get that kind of time to clean vehicles these days.
Sometimes instructors need to remember there's a real world out there.
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