Ambulances play a vital role in saving people’s lives across the UK everyday; they also enable many people to travel to hospital and medical appointments.
What are the roles of the ambulance?
Ambulances are mobile medical units, which aim to provide emergency medical help for people who have suffered trauma or become ill. Ambulances provide a rapid response and help to save thousands of lives every year. Paramedics are trained to provide emergency first aid and the ambulance is kitted out with a huge range of medical equipment to try and treat people and keep them safe and stable until they reach the hospital.
Ambulances are also used to transport people to and from medical appointments. Often, older people and people with disabilities rely on ambulances to get to appointments at the hospital or health clinic.
Types of ambulance
Most people associate ambulances with the neon emergency ambulance vans that you often see weaving in and out of traffic with flashing lights and blazing sirens. However, there are other types of ambulances and the ambulance crew is expanding all the time. It is now very common for rapid response cars (known as response units) to respond to 999 calls and you often see ambulances accompanied by paramedic cars at major incidents. Cars can go quicker than traditional ambulances and can therefore reach the scene of incident quicker.
The air ambulance is an important part of the ambulance fleet. The air ambulance provides emergency care for people who need to get to hospital as quickly as possible and for those who have suffered major injuries or become ill in a place that is awkward to reach by road. The helicopter can hover, which enables paramedics to get out and help patients in a variety of different environments and scenarios. The helicopter can travel very quickly, which enables patients to receive treatment in hospital very soon after the incident has occurred.
Bikes and motorbikes are also used to help people nowadays. It is common to see bikes patrolling city centres and motorbikes are often used for road traffic incidents, as they are able to get to the scene quickly and dodge long queues.
What type of equipment can be found in the ambulance?
Emergency ambulances are kitted out with equipment to treat patients and equipment to make the patient feel as comfortable as possible. Typically, ambulances will contain lifesaving equipment (including defibrillators), a range of medications, dressings, supportive devices (such as splints, braces and slings), first aid supplies and mobile testing equipment, such as a blood pressure monitor. Ambulances also have 2 way radios, which enable them to keep in contact with the emergency control centre and contact the hospital to give them information about incoming patients. This allows hospital staff to prepare for the patient and is often very important in cases where the patient is very ill and requires immediate treatment. Ambulances also have tail lifts, special trauma lighting and visual and audible warning signs to alert the public of their presence and encourage them to make a clear path.
