Chapter 8: Lifting and Moving Patients Flashcards
When do you use a stair chair?
To carry a conscious patient up or down a flight of stairs or other significant inclines.
When is a basket stretcher used?
To carry a patient across uneven terrain from a remote location inaccessible by ambulances or other vehicles.
When is a backboard used?
To move a patient with a suspected spinal injury.
How would I move a conscious patient with difficulty breathing in a second floor bedroom?
I would prepare a wheeled ambulance stretcher at the bottom of all the stairs and then bring a stair chair up the stairs, put the patient on the stair chair, and bring the patient to the stretcher and transfer them to the stretcher.
How would I move a patient who was ejected from an ATV and is 300-400 feet into a field?
I would place a sheet under the patient and then use the sheet to transfer the patient onto a backboard. I would put the back board onto a basket stretcher and carry the patient to a waiting ambulance stretcher.
How would I move a patient on the street who is in cardiac arrest with CPR being performed?
I would not move the patient unless they regain a pulse. If I were to move this patient, I would find out from bystanders if a spinal injury is possible which would determine if a backboard is needed then the patient would be moved to an ambulence stretcher.
How would I move a patient who fell down a flight of stairs and complains for neck and back pain?
I would put this patient on a backboard and then carry them to an ambulence stretcher waiting at the bottom of the stairs. If more stairs needed to be descended, the patient’s feet would go first.
How would I move an elderly patient on the floor who fell and may have fractured her hip?
I would put this patient on a back bard if stairs must be descended. Otherwise, I would put this patient directly on an ambulance stretcher.
How would I move a patient who broke their arm skateboarding and I find them on the street?
If the patient does not complain of any other pain, I would help them walk to the stretcher and get onto it.
How would I move one of dozens of patients in a multiple casualty incident?
First I would call for more ambulances if I have the only ambulance on the scene. If my patient is suspected to have a spinal injury I would put them on a backboard, otherwise I would put them directly onto an ambulance stretcher.
