Mileages U
Page 54
Page 55
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
-Cases Down
THE trend towards increased mileages to carry fewer patients continues as a feature of the operation of the 53-vehicle fleet of the ambulance service of Newcastle upon Tyne, which is the responsibility of Mr. H. M. Roberts, the Ambulance Officer. It is significant that the service, primarily intended to cater for 270,000 inhabitants over an area of 11 square miles, carried 4,736 patients some 94,000 miles on behalf of othlr authorities in 1959.
This mileage figure for outside authorities represented an increase of almost 14,000 over the previous year but it serves to emphasize the general decline in the number of cases carried and greater mileage covered. For instance, the 1959 total mileage of 622,730 showed an increase of nearly 22,000 over 1958, with 833 fewer patients carried.
Twenty Ambulances
Some 39 vehicles in the fleet are licensed under the National Health Service Act and of these a total of 20 are ambulances. Nine of them are based on Bedford chassis, a similar number on B.M.C. and two on Daimler limousine D.B. chassis. With the exception of three B.M.C.-based vehicles, which have Wadham bodies, coachwork is by Lomas.
Seven Utilicons, with Lomas bodies on Bedford C.A.Z. chassis, accommodate sitting patients, but provision is made to carry one stretcher in the case of emergency. Six cars, Vauxhall VeIox and Morris Oxford de Luxe, are used exclusively for sitting cases, mainly mothers with new babies and patients leaving hospital for convalescence.
Of six passenger vehicles, five seat up to 12 persons and the sixth, a Cornmer 5-ton coach, accommodates 32 passengers. The coach has been modified to allow easier access by the 220 backward children which it carries daily. Four converted ambulances are also used for this work. Transport of welfare foods, equipment on loan to invalids, laundry and clinical materials is carried out by two Morris 1-ton P.V. vans.
Two Bedford personnel vans, with Martin Walter bodywork, are engaged on light work which includes the transport of blood and specimens. They also carry night staff to and from some 25 hospitals in the area.
These vehicles also carry inspection staff of the Public Health Department when they are engaged on testing food and drugs. Together with a further Bedford C.A.Z., used mainly for disinfecting operations, these vehicles are zinc lined to aid cleaning and disinfection. Six more ambulances which have served their original purpose have been converted into four-berth stretcher-carrying vehicles for Civil Defence training, supplemented recently by two new Thames 15-cwt. vehicles.
Average petrol consumption for the Fleet in 1959 was 12.7 m.p.g. and the average journey mileage per city patient was 4.4. More than 150,000 patients were carried approximately 718,000 miles, although if relatives and Jependants who accompanied patients were included the figure would be nearer 300,000 passenger journeys.
In addition to the 53 vehicles in the fleet a further 14 are maintained in workshops of the Ambulance Service. These are the property of the Home Office.
Life expectancy of Newcastle ambulances is 10 years and this target is achieved by regular maintenance r.:arried out by a staff of five fitters and one coachbuilder under the direction of Mr. G. Henderson, the chief engineer. All repairs and maintenance are carried out by this staff who also paint each vehicle every two and a half years.
An inspection is carried out every 2,000 miles and during 1959 some 300 of these checks were made. After 10,000 miles each vehicle is completely stripped down and overhauled. Last year 69 vehicles had complete overhauls. Maintenance, including tyre costs, averages about 2d. a mile.
Stretcher Loading Some time ago, Mr. Roberts, in co-operation with Mr. Henderson, successfully designed and tested a power-assisted stretcher-loading gear for installation in ambulances. Mr. F. Hardy, of Herbert Lomas, Ltd., was responsible for the transition from design to prototype.
The loading gear consists of a rectangular loading tray which accepts a loaded stretcher from the normal carrying height. The tray, which swivels through 45 degrees from a protruding position at the base of the couch, is pneumatically operated from platform to couch level by an enginedriven compressor.
Air is stored in a reservoir located under the couch, adjacent to the pneumatic equipment. Its capacity allows the tray to be raised and lowered seven times before recharging, but a maximum of two complete operations is effected before the reservoir is automatically recharged.
The compressor is fitted with a 200-1b, " blow-out " tube, while at the rear end a reducing valve limits pressure on the tray. A nylon tube from the compressor feeds a pressure gauge on the driver's dashboard.
The pneumatic equipment, which was supplied by Lang Pneumatic, Ltd., Wolverhampton, is completed by a two-way cylinder which powers the plate in both directions. This obviates the doubtful procedure of allowing the downward movement to run off the exhaust.
The fitting of power-assisted loading gear transforms the ambulance into a dual-purpose vehicle, which can accommodate either 10 sitting patients or one stretcher case with five sitting.
The power-assisted gear is at the moment fitted to the six B.M.C.-Lomas vehicles and there are a further two vehicles with Wadham coachwork with facilities for the gear. After full experience with the loading gear, Mr. Roberts hopes eventually to convert all his ambulances into dual-purpose vehicles. The principle has wide application potential and Mr. Roberts and Mr. Henderson have completed a prototype for loading wheelchair invalids.