When working in an emergency setting, medical professionals need a lot of supplies to ensure that they have everything in case of any unforeseen situation. Read below to determine what equipment is essential for all emergency medical services.
Ambulances
The number one piece of equipment used by emergency medical services is the ambulance. Teams of emergency medical staff rely on ambulances to reach people in need; without them, many lives would be lost. The ambulance serves not only as a form of transportation but also as a makeshift operating room, an area for privacy, and the hub of all operations.
EMS Kit Bags
Once emergency services arrive at a destination, the staff have to run out and find the person or people in need. In order to give the most help as quickly as possible, the trained need to have a variety of pre-assembled EMS bags that are stocked full of life-saving supplies. These bags need to be sturdy but also portable and have to be organized in a way that the staff know exactly where everything is so that they can access it quickly.
Gurneys
A Gurney is a solid plank of wood or plastic with wheels attached that patients who have been in accidents are laid on in order to prevent further spinal damage from occurring. They also serve as a transportation device from one location to the ambulance and then from the ambulance to the hospital. Gurneys are an essential part of emergency services operations because they reduce time and prevent patients from further injuring themselves.
They are also extremely useful in cases where patients cannot walk on their own. Once a person is on the gurney, the medical professionals can lift it and employ the wheels so that they are better able to navigate sidewalks or streets on their way to and from the ambulance.
Defibrillator
The defibrillator is one of the most useful medical inventions of the last one hundred years because it has saved countless lives. If a person is experiencing a heart attack or any other cardiac issue that has caused their heart to stop, emergency medical services can administer electric shocks through this machine. These electrical shocks will hopefully restart the beating of the heart and allow the medical professionals to transport the patient to the hospital in order to undergo further tests.
Before the invention of the defibrillator, emergency medical workers would have to manually pump a person’s heart by pressing down on their chest in rhythmic pumps. This is still an element of the resuscitative process but is only done in between electric shocks. With the defibrillator, EMS professionals can assess other problems and not waste all of their energy on pumping the chest.
Overdose Kits
In the modern world, there are a lot of illegal substances out there that often cause problems that require the intervention of an emergency medical team. Because of this, every emergency medical service should have supplies like Narcan and IV drips on hand at all times in case of overdoses.
The equipment used for emergency services is some of the most important equipment in the medical field. First responders need as many supplies as possible to be prepared for the worst, so if you are running an emergency medical service, make sure that your crew has all of the equipment listed above.
The equipment used for emergency services is some of the most important equipment in the medical field. First responders need as many supplies as possible to be prepared for the worst, so if you are running an emergency medical service, make sure that your crew has all of the equipment listed above.
