Casualty movement is the collective term for the techniques used to move a casualty from the initial location (street, home, workplace, wilderness, battlefield) to the
ambulance
An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports 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 med ...
.
In wilderness or combat conditions, it may first be necessary to
stabilize the patient prior to moving them to avoid causing further injury. In such situations, evacuation may involve carrying the victim some distance on improvised stretchers, a
travois
A travois (; Canadian French, from French , a frame for restraining horses; also obsolete travoy or travoise) is a historical frame structure that was used by indigenous peoples, notably the Plains Aboriginals of North America, to drag loads ove ...
, or other improvised carrying gear.
Spinal immobilization is necessary if there is a likelihood of head or spinal injury.
Once the patient is ready to be moved, the first step is the
casualty lifting
Casualty lifting is the first step of casualty movement, an early aspect of emergency medical care. It is the procedure used to put the casualty (the patient) on a stretcher.
Developed emergency services use lifting devices, such as scoop st ...
, to put him/her on a
stretcher
A stretcher, gurney, litter, or pram is an apparatus used for moving patients who require medical care. A basic type (cot or litter) must be carried by two or more people. A wheeled stretcher (known as a gurney, trolley, bed or cart) is often ...
or
litter (rescue basket)
A litter is a stretcher or basket designed to be used where there are obstacles to movement or other hazards: for example, in confined spaces, on slopes, in wooded terrain. Typically it is shaped to accommodate an adult in a face up position and ...
. The final step is the
patient transfer
A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other health care ...
from the stretcher to the hospital bed.
The use of wheeled stretchers, usually used in most developed emergency services, does not need much explanation, except that great care must be taken in order to avoid aggravating an unstable trauma.
See also
*
CASEVAC
Casualty evacuation, also known as CASEVAC or by the callsign Dustoff or colloquially Dust Off, is a military term for the emergency patient evacuation of casualties from a combat zone. Casevac can be done by both ground and air. "DUSTOFF" is ...
*
MEDEVAC
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 a ...
References
Critical emergency medicine
Emergency medical services
Evacuations
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