63 Ambulance Facts. Trivia That Everybody Should Know

An ambulance is an emergency vehicle used to transport sick or injured people to the hospital.

Ambulances have emergency medical equipment that ambulance crews can use to transport patients with ease in an emergency. There are many things that must be present in an ambulance.

The 15 things that an ambulance ideally packs include gloves, stethoscope, pulse oximeter, defibrillator, flashlight, ECG monitor, cervical collar, blood pressure cuff, trauma shears, oxygen key, tourniquet, bag valve mask, spinal/trauma board, medical bag, and ventilators.

Ambulance services have helped so many people in need, yet there is a lot that people still do not know. This article will cover ambulance facts and trivia that everyone should know about this life-saving machine.

If you enjoyed reading this article, you must also read interesting car facts here at Kidadl.

Fun Facts About An Ambulance

We all know that most ambulances are used for emergency transport. However, an ambulance is much more than that. Here are some facts that make the ambulance much more special.

Ambulances have been around for more than 500 years. The first ambulances were simply horses and wagons, and they were used for the treatment facilities of soldiers in war.

Modern ambulances, however, come in various shapes and sizes and are used for all sorts of medical emergencies to rush patients to hospitals.

Most ambulance services are provided by emergency medical teams of paramedics and emergency medical technicians. Their job is speedy patient transport.

In some cases, a sick person will have to be looked after by emergency medical technicians who have received emergency medical training to deal with situations like providing sick and injured people with oxygen, checking their heart rate and blood pressure, and providing first aid for injuries. However, they cannot prescribe or provide the patients with medicines.

On the other hand, paramedics have received far more medical training and can provide advanced medical care to sick or injured patients. They can manage several complex procedures and administer medication and emergency care when required.

Facts About Different Types Of Ambulances

Not many might know this, but one of the most interesting ambulance facts is that there is more than one kind of ambulance.

The most common type of ambulance you have probably seen is the ground ambulance. This is a vehicle that carries the necessary equipment and rushes the sick or injured to the nearest hospital by road.

The next well-known ambulance is an air ambulance. Air ambulances have been around for quite some time. They originated in France when the French used hot air balloons to transport sick and injured soldiers over great distances.

Today, one of the most common forms of air ambulance is the helicopter or chopper. However, suppose a patient requires immediate assistance, and the hospital is over 100 mi (160.9 km) away as opposed to the standard air ambulance distance limit. A private air ambulance jet is used in such cases.

If that's not all, the international air ambulance service offers to transport patients all over the globe if required. An ambulance mounted on a cutaway van chassis is known as a 'Type Three Ambulance'.

The average cost of an air ambulance ranges from $12,000-25,000. Commercial air ambulance services are also available to those who are able to fly on regular flights but require care, medicine, and other medical equipment.

These services also come with a medical escort, or to use the more familiar term, 'medic,' to look after patients' needs. Medics are trained to assist in the case of any medical emergency.

Besides the air ambulance, there is also a boat ambulance. Operating this is tricky, but it is used to transport sick and injured patients over bodies of water.

Facts About The Importance Of An Ambulanc

The primary purpose of an ambulance is to save lives. Thus, any vehicle that can transport a person in the event of a medical emergency can be called an ambulance.

Usually, only three types of people travel in an ambulance, besides the patient. That is the driver of the ambulance, the paramedics, and the emergency medical technicians.

Although ambulances may have different-sounding sirens, the sounds made by the sirens simply mean 'move out of the way' for everyone around them. Several countries have an easy three-digit number to contact the nearest available ambulance that is easy to remember and quick to dial in case of an emergency.

Apart from government vehicles like police cars, an ambulance is the only vehicle allowed to break the speed limit when in an emergency. Saving lives is important, and other vehicles are required to move aside and give way to the ambulance when the sirens are on.

The ambulance always has to be charged up regularly to make sure that it has enough power to run all the medical equipment.

Facts About The Ambulance's Origin

Although the records may be few, there are several occasions and events that date back to the first use of the ambulance. Ambulances were first used to transport sick and injured patients away from the fields of battle. Back then, medical emergencies were mostly just war injuries and broken bones.

The injured back then were transported to the hospitals on a horse and cart. However, in early 1870, during the Siege of Paris, history saw the first use of the air ambulance, where the injured soldiers were transported in hot air balloons. The air ambulance was also used during the First World War to transport injured army men.

History stories claim that the first ambulances were used during the Siege of Malaga by the Catholic Monarchs against the Emirate of Granada. These ambulances were horse-drawn carriages and transported the injured patients.

The first automobile ambulances began at the turn of the 19th century.

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