Do you think van ambulance's should be outlawed ?

[DrParasite]

Seriously, most EMS transports do very little in patient care and majority of the time all the patient needs is a comfortable ride!

and this is probably the smartest thing I have ever read on EMTLife. Someone else finally gets it. the majority of the time the patient needs a comfy ride to the hospital.

Don't get me wrong, not EVERY person who calls 911 needs just a comfy ride. The sick ones need a lot more help, and in the sick ones, the ones where you end up with 3 people in the back of the ambulance, the vans are too cramped.

I prefer boxes. I'm 6'3", and like being able to be able to move in an ambulance, especially when I have to step over someone else to get something from the ambulance.

However, for IFTs, NETs, and the majority of calls that only get a 2 person crew response, a van is perfectly fine. and significantly cheaper than the boxes.

 

[boingo]

I think the boxes are big and expensive when compared to a van, however with the amount of crap we are required to carrry they are a necessary evil. There is no way to fit all that stuff in a van.

As for the ride, our newest trucks actually ride great in the back, so far. My truck has 3,000 miles on it, so I'll get back to you at 30K.

I work in a city who's traffic design was based on cow paths which has led to terrible congestion, traffic secondary to very narrow streets. If a heavy rescue or ladder can make it, then there is no reason a box ambulance can't.