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GREATER COMFORT for Patients
Page 120
Page 123
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By Ashley Taylor, A.M.I.R.T.E.
IN addition to producing several new designs, the ambulance section of the bodybuilding industry has introduced many detail improvements calculated to enhance the comfort of patients.
• From the technical angle, the most significant development .is that included, in the exhibit by Wadham Bros. (Coach builders), Ltd. (Stand 50), of a full body box constructed in plastics, For this unit.
over 40 separate mouldings ,have been prepared, these being bonded togetfier to form the final product.
Interior lining panels of the same material are screwed in, and there is a
translucent. plastics/ panel which forms 'a roof light. The chassis employed is the 2.2-litre oil-engined Morris LD01.
The line of the wooden floor is low and, with a front end of new design which incorporates a wrap-round screen, the vision is excellent. Damaged panels are usually simple for the ordinary body builder to reinstate, but Wadhams will be able to supply jig-dimensioned sections for any part that is smashed beyond local repair.
Additional rigidity has been achieved by the employment of a substantially double-skin design but, whilst internal and overall dimensions have been increased, the weight is down. A number of metal inserts has been moulded in for attachment purposes.
In view of the insistence of local authorities on their individual liveries, conventional paint finishes will be'
applied. Experiments have been performed with self-coloured resins but the range of shades available is limited. There is ample locker room.
The equipment includes the Morris low-loading gear, the Wadham off-side n42 seat, which is quickly reversed to form a second stretcher-carrier, a plasma-bottle holder, and an .oxygen-bottle carrier. Prices are expected to be much the same as for a similarly equipped ambulance of composite construction.
Several manufacturers have responded to the .need for a lighter ambulance appropriate for the intermittent use required by some business houses and by sech organizations as the Red Cross and the Sc. John Ambulance Brigade. A notable contribution in this field is by .Appleyard of Leeds, Ltd. (Stand 113), with the lightweight Oxford ambulance which, being based on the Morris Oxford car, is specially suitable for the volunteer driver. Both capital and running costs are appreciably lower than for the conventional public-authority vehicle that is intended for constant use.
Easily washable plastics-faced hardboard is employed for the interior panelling, and the floor has radiusecl angles, another aid to .cleanliness. An Appleyard-modified Morris low-loading stretcher gear is mounted on the near side, the equipment automatically raising the foam-rubber support bed when the stretcher is placed in position.
On the off side is a bench seat for five patients which, by a single movement of a spring-loaded lever, is converted into an additional stretcher platform, the cushions being automatically located in a centre well. The blood-transfusion bottle holder is now fixed directly to the main stretcher so that transfusion can continue when the patient has left the vehicle.
One of the interesting features of the Appleyard eight-seater ambulance (Demonstration Park) is the use of safety straps to the seats then the driver has no need for fear that a partially incapacitated patient may be thrown forward.
Herbert Lomas, Ltd. (Stand 117 and Demonstration Park) have two specimens of their Junior ambulance amongst a comprehensive display. Here again seat straps are used. A body on a Thames chassis has a bench seat on the near side with three single chairs on the off side, the latter folding forward so that a stretcher can be mounted on the top if desired.
Some re-styling of the Lomas B-type body has been undertaken in order that it shall mate with the new Bedford J-1 chassis, the modifications including easier access at the rear. The interior, which accommodates 10 sitters, can quickly be converted for stretcher work. This form of body is also to be seen on the Karrier Stand (No. 74).
Outside panelling of plastics, with lightmetal floor and frame, is employed by Kennings, Ltd. (Stand 79) in an ambulance with a Morris LD1 chassis. In the demonstration park is this company's lightweight model on an 'Austin chassis, this having six single chairs and the whole interior finished with upholstery and trimmings of contemporary design. The seats have tubular grab handles. The chairs on the off side fold down so that over them can be placed an emergency stretcher which in the ordinary way is carried in a roof-level rack.
Mass X-ray work is the function of a large semi-trailer shown by the Eagle Engineering Co.; Ltd. (Stand 105). This unit has been specially designed to facilitate the fullest flow-through for large numbers of candidates for X-ray. Entered from the rear and divided into compartments, the van accommodates the X-ray plant—there also being separate office accommodation and a waitingroom.
The body is coachbuilt with aluminium exterior panels, and hardboard panelling inside. A BK coupling gear is fitted to the trailer and, there being a generator on the Karrier Bantam tractor, the whole outfit is selfsufficient Ancillary fittings include VentAxia fans, tubular electric heaters and fluorescent lighting.
Fire fighters are shown on the Dennis (Stand 94) and Land-Rover (Stand 58) displays, the former including a conventional engine destined for Kuala Lumpur. In its fire-tender form, the Land-Rover has strengthened springs all round and light-metal bodywork, canvas-covered hose-lockers over the rear wheels, engine governor and engine oil cooler. A KSB two-stage 210 g.p.m. pump is incorporated, the drive being direct to the pump from the centre p.t.-o. output shaft The pump has twin delivery valves for instantaneous 21-in. couplings. There is also a 40-gal. first-aid tank with a 120-ft. first-aid hose reel. An interesting alternative is a Land-Rover with a Rover IS/60 gas-turbine-powered pump set at the rear, this having a single-shaft 60 b.h.p. engine with fully automatic fuel system and a lightweight pump.
On Stand 61 the Austin Gipsy crosscountry vehicle is to be seen in fire-tender form with roller shutter covers for the side apertures of the body and two seats at the rear.