Paramedics seek equipment to hoist obese patients

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This article was published 19/10/2011 (5187 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG paramedics plan to purchase more specialized equipment after obese patients were transported to hospital more than 800 times in the last 18 months.

Christian Schmidt, assistant chief of operations for the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service, said paramedics want to buy additional equipment before the end of the year to help lift bariatric patients. The city plans to put out a tender for air-assisted lifts and mattresses to help paramedics move obese patients from the ground onto stretchers.

Schmidt said the lifts will also help move patients from ambulance stretchers onto hospital stretchers. He declined to disclose the city’s budget for the new equipment, saying it could affect their ability to get the best price for taxpayers.

In April 2010, the city spent about $130,000 to purchase a specialized bariatric ambulance with a hydraulic lift system to accommodate patients who weigh upwards of 350 pounds.

Schmidt said the city has three other vehicles — including two multi-incident response vehicles (MIRVs) — that are able to transport obese patients. Paramedics used bariatric equipment to transport 450 patients to hospital last year, and another 413 to date in 2011.

“We’re averaging about one call a day,” Schmidt said. “That’s not to say that some days there won’t be any calls and other days there will be two or three calls.”

Schmidt said the new equipment is expected to arrive in December and will make it safer for both patients and paramedics.

According to the most recent Winnipeg Regional Health Authority community health survey, about 34 per cent of Winnipeggers are overweight and another 18 per cent are obese. St. James-Assiniboia has the largest percentage of obese residents in Winnipeg, where 26 per cent of the population are obese, according to their body mass index.

Currently, Schmidt said city paramedics rely on other specialized equipment to safely lift obese patients.

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service has special chairs that can move patients up and down stairwells, stretchers with extensions and equipment that helps multiple people lift and move an obese patient. Schmidt said these devices are also used to transport patients who are not obese.

While 911 operators often ask some callers if they need bariatric equipment, Schmidt said there are times when paramedics don’t know a patient’s weight could be an issue until they arrive at the scene. In these instances, Schmidt said paramedics will get the patient ready for transport and wait for proper equipment to arrive.

He said only 18 per cent of all calls to paramedics are to transport a critically ill patient, so most calls for bariatric transport are not emergencies.

“They can be managed, but our preference for patient safety and staff safety is to have the equipment available,” Schmidt said, noting paramedics will continue to monitor the need for more bariatric equipment.

“This is something we have to continue to plan for.”

jen.skerritt@freepress.mb.ca