To buy a stretcher and keep it at home in case of emergency?

[Summersoon8]

I had the thought of doing this and then a few days later I read the story of an elderly man with a broken hip with no ambulances available (not even given a long wait time, just told none available at all) and his family took him to hospital strapped to a plank of wood in the back of a van.

AIBU to consider buying some sort of emergency/folding stretcher online and storing it at home in case we're ever in the same sort of situation?

That stretcher from Amazon a pp posted a picture of is terrible. Absolutely do not get anything like that. Lifting either end with only two people basically folds the patient in half and could in some circumstances and patients compromise breathing/airway. Not to mention, if they have any kind of pelvic, hip or spinal injury the pain and potential complications it could cause being lifted like that.

Getting all the gadgets is all well and good but you also need to know how to use them correctly, what things affect the reading and how to interpret the results correctly.

it really should make you all stop and think about what you have come to accept as normal

I agree with this. It's beyond depressing.

but as a higher proportion of Tory voters are elderly you would think they would be concerned by now ... and yes my parents voted Tory and I am picking up the pieces for their choice.

So what do you think the problem is?

Wasn't there a lady with a broken ankle in the bees a few months ago who waited hours and hours for an ambulance and people on here said broken ankles didn't need ambulances and her family should have bundled her into a car and delivered her to A&E?

Tbf, I would get someone with a broken ankle into a car if I could. Crutches are easier to improvise than a stretcher, and safer to use, and if the person can weight bear on their good leg they just need support on the other side.

That's a world away from stretchering a seriously injured and immobile person.

And I speak as someone who recently had a severely broken bone and did not wait for an ambulance - it was painful but I got myself into a car.

But the kind of injury that would require a stretcher is different. Most people could not safely transport someone in that position.

Well, yeah. The people saying that were right.
I have broken my foot at home. My DP drove me to A&E. At no point did we think an ambulance would be appropriate. Ambulance is for getting to hospital fast and/or needing monitoring/treatment on the way there.

I was at a ceilidh once and some one fell and broke their shoulder. Saturday night and literals five minute drive from a major trauma centre. I made the people phoning for a ambulance cancel it and insisted he could be driven. And he was.

No one is suggesting buying a carry chair or stretcher for a potential ankle injury! What about a stroke??

I'd buy a Sherman tank instead and blast every Tory in this country to smithereens. They've destroyed the NHS. We'll be paying for ambulances very soon, if we can afford one.

Re:Ankle injuries. The thing is, when my aunt broke her ankle on the beach they did stretcher her off after carefully securing the ankle.

They said the wrong movement could damage the blood supply to the foot and if not careful she could lose a foot.

I thought people not wearing masks were to blame...

A fair few broken bones, including his back.
Unfortunately it didn't knock any sense into him because as soon as he was mended, he was back up the mountains.
Maybe the op could be waiting at the bottom next time with her shiny new stretcher.

I think investing the money into attending emergency medical courses first would be more beneficial. There is no point in buying equipment unless you know how to properly use it. The the next would be a risk assessment of your surroundings and prioritize what you feel the most likely injuries and prep for those first.

i Mean you can get a stretcher, but will it fit safely in your car? Do you have enough manual handling experience not to injure yourself ( or the person going on the stretcher). Are you sure you want to move someone with a head/spinal injury ?

@curiousierandcouriser
I think investing the money into attending emergency medical courses first would be more beneficial. There is no point in buying equipment unless you know how to properly use it. The the next would be a risk assessment of your surroundings and prioritize what you feel the most likely injuries and prep for those first

As several people have now said, first aid courses are specifically designed for people to offer immediate help so they can make someone comfortable and monitor them until medical help arrives but many, many other people (and I am sure you must have been watching/reading the news recently)have said that ambulances very often do not come any more. It’s not just a case of having to wait a bit longer. They just do not come. Very often the call handler will tell the caller to bring the patient to hospital themselves.

Yes I think everyone here is very well aware that moving someone could possible cause harm. But what do you actually do in that situation? Shrugging your shoulders and relying on girl guides advice from the 1980s won’t help you.

Of course a broken spine or hip should not be moved by an untrained person but what about a person with a stroke? Strokes are very common indeed. Most families will know a relative who has had one. My sister and father had stokes in their 30s. If someone is having a stroke seconds count. They have to be got to hospital immediately. Would you really just go through your first aid procedure and wait for an ambulance that never comes ? Without a doubt my sister is only alive today because someone in the street lifted her and got her to hospital in their car after she had a stroke.

Shame on the people laughing at this.

YANBU
Moving injured people can cause harm, but so can leaving them lying on the floor for hours/days at a time

Well the Tories have had 12 years, why haven't they overhauled it then?

Lifting someone after a stroke is very different from moving someone with a suspected hip or pelvis fracture. Especially at home with stairs involved. And in your case a home stretcher wasn't needed.

In a lot of cases moving a patient can cause more injuries and extreme pain.

If the person can be lifted and the risk of needing cpr on route is low then just carry them. If a limb needs immobilising and staying flat then it is best to wait for an ambulance.

If people do want to be prepared then a silver blankets in the car and crutches at home are much more useful than a dodgy stretcher. Plus a fire blanket in the house (always amazed how many people don't have one - small kitchen fires are quite common).

And luckily, they will all be available in the emergency situation you are envisioning...

This scenario requires people able to lift the patient onto the stretcher, then lift the stretcher and walk to the car and then what’s happening? How are we getting them into the car? 🤔

I think some people are seriously underestimating how difficult it is to move an immobile adult.

I'm not laughing - I'm just questioning if buying a stretcher is the best use of money. In your example of a stroke, how would having a stretcher (without an appropriately sized vehicle) help? If someone had a stroke in my house and no ambulance was coming, then I would get them into my car and drive them to the ER.

A surprising number of people are not up-to-date regarding first aid (basic and advanced) and this could make a big difference to an outcome. If you are knowledgable on this, there may be more useful things to purchase before the stretcher - crutches / wheelchair / fully stocked first aid / silver blanket / emergency car kit / etc.

curiousier
how would you get them to your car after a stroke then? We carried my parent and caused back injury. Hence my vow to get a lifting chair or stretcher or anything that would make it easier to carry someone paralyzed from the neck down or any other effect from stroke if it happened again as getting to hospital quickly is so important.