Lift-up. For Handicapped Children D ESIGNED to provide a school service
Page 83
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
for severely handicapped children, a special ambulance was officially handed over to Coventry Education Committee last week by Mr. P. G. Cain, of the Parkside Garage. Ltd., Coventry, Morris-Commercial distributors. The ambulance will be used for the collection of the children from their homes for transport to Baginton Fields School. Coventry.
Featuring a Burtonwood 10-cwt. hydraulic tailboard lift located at the rear of the vehicle, the ambulance is based on a Morris-Commercial F.G. 2-ton petrol-engined chassis of 10-ft. 9-in. wheelbase, whilst the body was built by Lewis Scott, of Coventry. It can accommodate 10 children in wheelchairs and. if necessary, a number of sitting-case patients.
Sitting in the wheelchair, the child is raised to the floor level of the ambulance on the loader, the movement of which is controlled by the attendant, standing on the platform, by means of an external lever on the nearside of the vehicle. The wheelchair is secured to the floor in an
inward facing position by a rod-andscrew mechanism. Effective width of the sliding doors of the cab has been increased by some 6 in. to 2 ft. 8 in. to permit removal of the children in their chairs from the front of the ambulance in the event of damage to the rear sliding doors or loader mechanism.
5 per cent. Collected Upwards of 5 per cent. of the 220 children at the school will be collected by the ambulance, the less handicapped being transported in a conventional type of coach. Employing a vehicle with tailboard loader represents an extremely valuable facility in that the alternative method of transport necessitates manual lifting of the children after removal from their chairs into a vehicle with a van body. and this can impose a dangerous physical strain on the attendant. Moreover it also greatly extends the loading time.
Providing a headroom of 6-ft. 2-in., the composite aluminium panelled body gives a floor area of 12 ft. by 6 ft. Fitted with ramp extension, the platform of the loader is of special lightweight construction to enable it to be lifted easily by a female attendant.