I will warn you now this blog is going to be considered totally non PC by many people – but the subject just makes me mad!
ambulance of the future?
Apparently the East Midlands Ambulance Service is to spend about £800,000 on ambulances – nothing wrong there, we all need ambulances. No it is the specifics that are causing my bile to rise. They are having to buy ones capable of dealing with obese patients.
It’s current fleet of 270 ambulances only includes a few capable of handling patients up to 80 stone! And it is buying 80 of the ‘super size’ vehicles with larger stretchers, ramps, hoists and specialist chairs. The new ambulances, which are currently being built, will be able to take patients weighing up to 50 stone (318kg).
Now I am willing to accept that we are all getting bigger, this is a result of better living standards over the past few decades. And there needs to be provision for transporting ‘larger’ patients – that goes without saying. But 50 stone is the equivalent of my entire family (and a bit)!
But there is a bigger picture here – if obesity is getting to be such a common problem that we need all of our ambulances to be capable of carrying ‘larger’ patients shouldn’t we be using the money to educate people on how to eat healthily so that the problem reduces (and the weight).
An example of shutting the gate after the horse has bolted?
