An ambulance is a medically-equipped vehicle used to transport patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to medical emergencies by emergency medical services (EMS), and can rapidly transport paramedics and other first responders, carry equipment for administering emergency care, and transport patients to hospital or other definitive care. Most ambulances use a design based on vans or pickup trucks, though others take the form of motorcycles, buses, limousines, aircraft and boats.
Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to wounded being evacuated from a battlefield, to injured patients being evacuated from the scene of an accident to receiving medical facilities, or to patients at a rural hospital requiring urgent care at a better-equipped facility using medically equipped air ambulances, helicopters and other means of emergency transport including ground ambulance and maritime transfers.
Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, removal from danger, liberation from restraint, or the urgent treatment of injuries after an incident. It may be facilitated by a range of tools and equipment necessary to deal with the specific circumstances.
A light horse field ambulance was an Australian World War I military unit whose purpose was to provide medical transport and aid to the wounded and sick soldiers of an Australian Light Horse brigade.
A stretcher, gurney, litter, or pram is an apparatus used for moving patients who require medical care. A basic type must be carried by two or more people. A wheeled stretcher is often equipped with variable height frames, wheels, tracks, or skids.
The EurocopterAS565 Panther is the military version of the Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin medium-weight multi-purpose twin-engine helicopter. The Panther is used for a wide range of military roles, including combat assault, fire support, anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, search and rescue, and medical evacuation.
Casualty movement is the collective term for the techniques used to move a casualty from the initial location to the ambulance.
The AérospatialeSA 321 Super Frelon is a three-engined heavy transport helicopter produced by aerospace manufacturer Sud Aviation of France. It held the distinction of being the most powerful helicopter to be built in Europe at one point, as well as being the world's fastest helicopter.
The Sikorsky H-5 is a helicopter built by Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation.
The Truck, Utility, ¼-Ton, 4×4, or simply M151 was the successor to the Korean War M38 and M38A1 Jeep Light Utility Vehicles. The M151 had an integrated body design which offered a little more space than prior jeeps, and featured all-around independent suspension with coil springs. It has since been replaced by the larger AM General HMMWV in most utility roles in frontline use. With some M151A2 units still in U.S. military service in 1999, the M151 series achieved a longer run of service than that of the World War II/Korean War-era MB/GPW, M38, and M38A1 series combined.
Aeromedical evacuation (AE) usually refers to the use of military transport aircraft to carry wounded personnel.
Mounted search and rescue (MSAR) is a specialty within search and rescue (SAR), using horses as search partners and for transportation to search for missing persons. SAR responders on horseback are primarily a search resource, but also can provide off-road logistics support and transportation. Mounted SAR responders can in some terrains move faster on the ground than a human on foot, can transport more equipment, and may be physically less exhausted than a SAR responder performing the same task on foot. Mounted SAR responders typically have longer initial response times than groundpounder SAR resources, due to the time required to pick up trailer, horse(s), and perhaps also water, feed, and equipment.
The history of the ambulance begins in ancient times, with the use of carts to transport patients. Ambulances were first used for emergency transport in 1487 by the Spanish forces during the siege of Málaga by the Catholic monarchs against the Emirate of Granada, and civilian variants were put into operation in the 1830s. Advances in technology throughout the 19th and 20th centuries led to the modern self-powered ambulance.
The Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) is the state emergency ambulance and patient transport provider in Queensland, Australia. QAS is part of the Queensland Government under the Queensland Health portfolio and is one of the largest ambulance services in the world.
The U.S. Ambulance Corps was a unit of the Union Army during the American Civil War. The Ambulance Corps was initially formed as a unit only within the Army of the Potomac, due to the effort of several Army officials, notably Dr. Jonathan Letterman, medical director of the Army of the Potomac, and William Hammond, the U.S. Surgeon-General. Until August 1862, the lack of trained ambulance drivers meant that the wounded had to wait a long time to receive medical care. This changed during the Battle of Antietam in September 1862 when his new system allowed the wounded men to be transferred quickly and prevent fewer deaths.
Air medical services are the use of aircraft, including both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters to provide various kinds of medical care, especially prehospital, emergency and critical care to patients during aeromedical evacuation and rescue operations.
Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 49 (HSM-49) is a United States Navy Maritime Strike helicopter squadron based Naval Air Station North Island, California.
The Storm Search and Rescue Tactical Vehicle (SRTV) is an all-terrain light military vehicle developed by the United States. It was the winner of the Guardian Angel Air-Deployable Rescue Vehicle (GAARV) competition awarded by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC). The competition was named for the pararescuemen and combat rescue officers known as the "Guardian Angel Weapon System." The Storm SRTV is to be used by the United States Air Force Pararescue.
A rescue toboggan, also known as a rescue sled or emergency rescue sledge, or by the Finnish word ahkio, is a carrier for transporting a person or goods on snowy or icy surfaces. It is used by mountain rescue or ski patrol teams to evacuate an injured skier or snowboarder. There are related designs for use on water to carry accident victims or emergency equipment.
Neil Robertson stretcher (NRS) is a type of rescue stretcher designed for the purpose of safely transferring an injured person by either lowering or lifting them to a place of safety. It is constructed from wooden slats and canvas. It features the patient being wrapped in canvas and secured using robust canvas straps, with a lifting rope affixed to a head-mounted ring and a guideline tied near the ankles, serving to halt the stretcher's movement. It has been utilized by the Royal Navy for nearly a century. The Neil Robertson stretcher has been widely adopted in Australia and other countries, and has been credited with reducing the risk of further injury to patients during transport.
