Medical transport vehicles have been an extremely important part of healthcare for generations. They are often what saves people’s lives in times of medical crisis. Without rapid enough medical transportation, many more people would wind up not making it into the hospital alive. There are also other types of medical transportation that are used in non-emergency situations. Many disabled patients rely on this kind of transport to get to doctor’s offices and even for routine obligations.
Ambulances are the most well known type of medical transportation. They have lights, sirens, and medical staff onboard. However, there is more to them than most people are aware of. Ambulances can essentially be a mobile life support system! When 911 is called and a medical emergency is occurring or suspected to be occurring, an ambulance is dispatched. On the way to the scene and after picking up the patient, ambulances do not have to abide by traffic laws. If the sirens and lights are on, they are able to go through red lights, speed, weave through traffic, and do other things that non-emergency responders cannot do.
There are two types of ambulances. There are the more basic ambulances that do not have advanced life support capacities. These ambulances do not have paramedics onboard. A paramedic is the highest certification one can get aboard an ambulance. Paramedics are able to perform basic medical procedures on the scene and in the ambulance to save a person’s life. On ambulances with advanced life support, paramedics are onboard. There also is more sophisticated equipment on the ambulance.
There are also medevac helicopters that can be used to respond to medical emergencies in remote areas. These helicopters are staffed with emergency responders that can keep a person alive onboard the helicopter. Helicopters are able to access areas that are not accessible at all by road.
Non-emergency medical transport vehicles are also used by many people. There are short distance non-emergency medical transports called cabulances. These vehicles are often used by those with disabilities that prevent driving so they can get to doctor’s offices and other important obligations. Cabulances operate under a variety of different names, and they are available in numerous areas. Quite a few different companies operate a cabulance service. They tend to be somewhat affordable. However, they do not offer any major medical support. They are equipped with wheelchair access and other things that are needed for someone who is disabled.