Ambulance for obese patients to debut in Calgary
Updated Thu. Jun. 21 2007 10:00 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff
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Marking a troubling trend towards obesity in Canada, a new ambulance built to accommodate patients weighing as much as 1,000 pounds is about to make its debut in Calgary.
The city's new "bariatric response team" will include an air-bag system to help transport obese patients onto stretchers and a hydraulic lift system to bring patients into the ambulance.
Specially trained paramedics will also be used to deal with obese patients.
The remote lift system, which costs about $30,000, automatically raises patients on a widened stretcher and into the ambulance.
Dr. David Lau, an endocrinologist who is also the president of Obesity Canada, called the measure a "good step forward."
"I do have a number of patients who are 500 pounds and up and they normally cannot be transferred anywhere," Lau told The Globe and Mail. "It may sound trivial and yet it's not. It's a big (problem), to pardon the pun."
More on link
Updated Thu. Jun. 21 2007 10:00 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link
Marking a troubling trend towards obesity in Canada, a new ambulance built to accommodate patients weighing as much as 1,000 pounds is about to make its debut in Calgary.
The city's new "bariatric response team" will include an air-bag system to help transport obese patients onto stretchers and a hydraulic lift system to bring patients into the ambulance.
Specially trained paramedics will also be used to deal with obese patients.
The remote lift system, which costs about $30,000, automatically raises patients on a widened stretcher and into the ambulance.
Dr. David Lau, an endocrinologist who is also the president of Obesity Canada, called the measure a "good step forward."
"I do have a number of patients who are 500 pounds and up and they normally cannot be transferred anywhere," Lau told The Globe and Mail. "It may sound trivial and yet it's not. It's a big (problem), to pardon the pun."
More on link