Need your anecdotes on ad hoc pt movement.

[mycrofft]

If you have direct experience with patients being moved without benefit of commercial litters, can you share your experiences with what works, what didn't, safety, anything? I am once again gathering info to teach a class, this time about what to do in the absence of adequate commercial litters. If you prefer, send me a PM or email.

SIDEBAR: we used to be awash in the old canvas military style D-ring stretchers. DO you find that cached litters are like that, or as someone told me almost all the folding aluminum frame Ferno-Washington style?

And of course "war stories" are welcome!

 

[NomadicMedic]

Megamovers are everywhere these days. Cheap, effective and easy.

I haven't seen a canvas/pole stretcher in over 20 years.

 

[mycrofft]

But what does Red Cross, etc., have stockpiled?

The class is for a CERT organization and situations where it is likely that commercial litters will be used up fast.

 

[MMiz]

Megamovers are everywhere these days. Cheap, effective and easy.

I haven't seen a canvas/pole stretcher in over 20 years.

At a relatively progressive private company I worked for we had canvas pole cot in every rig. Never used one, but they were there.

 

[jjesusfreak01]

Mom twisted her ankle on a hiking trip. My dad any I did a two person cradle.

 

[mycrofft]

How did the two person cradle go and for how far?

I remember that one .

 

[Tigger]

I've two person-cradled somewhere for 5 miles following a high ankle sprain. Rotated between 4 people for the first three miles, then SAR showed up and we rotated through seven people. It sucked, but not as bad as I thought it would. Carrying the stokes for the last half mile really was not that much better.

It was also easier to carry him than carrying his pack in a tarp (which obviously weighed a lot less). I would never carry anyone in a tarp/sheet for any significant distance unless there were some sort of handholds. We tried carrying him in a tarp and that just did not work at all.

I've also used one of those Ferno rescue seats a few times, those things are better than a cradle and if you have the hands, better than a stairchair if the staircase is wide enough.
http://www.ferno.com/product_detail.aspx?prodID=13C78DE4-C0A1-48C1-B467-14D1DE3A3FBA

 

[mycrofft]

Thanks Tigger. Others?

A lot of the proposed litters I've seen proposed seem to maybe work across an office or classroom or with a kid's weight.

 

[mammikoura]

Probably can't use this in class or you'll get attacked by human rights activists.
http://static.blog4ever.com/2007/12/165555/big_photo_165555_8474748_2011022041456699.jpg

http://static.blog4ever.com/2007/12/165555/big_photo_165555_8474746_2011022041355447.jpg

All you need is a tree trunk and a few meters of rope and you are good to go for as long as you need to.

A little hard to build and more or less painful for the "patient" but gets the job done in ANY circumstance. I've turned that thing around in every possible angle, including having the "patient" head down and he will not fall, ever. An extreme measure for extreme environments.

 

[mycrofft]

Or a barbeque

Yeah, the single pole deal has been used with a hammock type deal a lot before. We modern people forget that stuff.

By the way, no dang way I'd be in that or allow a real person to be put in it for training. (

Must be handy living where there is bamboo!

 

[Tigger]

I bet that single pole litter is horribly uncomfortable, but probably not that much worse than what ever injury one suffered to warrant its use.

We used to make litter in Boy Scouts, it was a fairly useless exercise. It would take so long to make something strong enough to carry a good sized person (and I was damned good at lashing things haha), that by the time we started carrying someone in it we could have been halfway there if we just two person cradled them. Plus if you don't have more than four people and are dealing with anything more than flat ground, a litter is not going to work well.

 

[alphatype]

I've personally used 2 person cradle and fireman's carry. When the pt was small enough, I've just picked them up and carried them in my arms. (of course these were all sprained ankles other something that didnt require spinal immobilization) I've heard of lashing a tarp to two poles to make kind of a drag behing thing...

 

[mycrofft]

alphatype, yeah, a travois

Bumpy and hard to use without a horse and smooth ground. I've seen old D-ring stretchers used like that with one person dragging it, snaps off the handles.

 

[mycrofft]

Here's mammikoura's picture:

Looks more like either body recovery, or barbecue.

 

[mycrofft]

Progress

I have gotten some really helpful PM's from folks. I'll share their gist later.

 

[mycrofft]

We all done here?

Hmm?:unsure: