The idea of a medical ambulance was born during the Napoleonic wars. Such vehicles were used to evacuate wounded soldiers from the fields of the numerous and very bloody battles that swept through Europe at the time.
The development of medicine and increasingly better equipment has led to the development of medical ambulances. Today's definition of the type of ambulance in the Polish emergency medical system and their designation is regulated by the provisions of the Law on State Emergency Medical Services. There are 5 basic types of ambulances:
Specialized ambulance S
Specialized ambulance S so-called "eski" (once referred to as ambulance R). Ambulance S is a resuscitation ambulance, used in life-threatening emergencies. It is operated by a minimum team of three people, at least one of whom is a doctor. If none of the crew members have privileges to drive emergency vehicles, the fourth person may be the driver. The equipment of the S ambulance is
Basic ambulance P
Basic P amb ulances are staffed with at least two paramedics or nurses. The presence of a doctor on the P ambulance team is not required - if none of the members are certified to drive emergency vehicles, the third person on the team can be the driver. The P ambulance's equipment is adapted to situations such as accidents, injuries and illnesses, where the participation of an S ambulance is not required.
Transport T ambulance
Transport T ambulances - are ambulances used for transporting casualties and patients not requiring intensive care, inter-hospital transport or transporting organs or blood. Most often, they are manned by a driver and a paramedic. There is also a medical transport ambulance in the system, which also includes a doctor. Ambulances of this type are used to transport patients who require medical supervision. The markings of transport ambulances vary from region to region (a combination of the letter T, e.g. "RT", "ST" or "TL").
Veterinary ambulances
Veterinary amb ulances - these ambulances may have emergency vehicle status, but not all do. They most often come in yellow with red stripes, while the rear is blue.
Neanatology ambulances
Neonatology ambulances -(ambulanceN) these ambulances are used in situations similar to those involving T ambulances, but are designed to transport newborns and infants up to 1 year of age. The N ambulance is equipped with resuscitation equipment.
The Polish system also includes:
- POZ (Primary Health Care) ambulances.
- N&H (Night and Christmas Healthcare).
Ambulances of this type are most often used for home visits by a family doctor to people who cannot get to an outpatient clinic on their own, and whose condition is stable enough not to be life-threatening. SICU ambulances, on the other hand, as their name implies, are on duty at night on weekdays and around the clock on holidays and non-working days.
COVID19 pandemic times introduced another ambulance variant, although it is not legally defined - it is a swab ambulance, which is an ambulance used to reach patients by teams that provide SARS virus testing services - CoV -2. Falck Medics offer a service of this type in many locations in Poland (see www.falck.pl).
A separate type of ambulance is the military ambulance - a specialized ambulance most often adapted to carry more than one person in the supine position by placing stretchers piled against the walls of the vehicle.
There is also the Polish Standard PN-EN 1789:2008 , "Motor vehicles and their equipment - road ambulances. In order to use the name "ambulance" to refer to a particular vehicle, it must be constructed in the manner specified in the standard, contain the equipment specified by the standard and have certain components. The standard specifies three types of ambulances:
- Type A: patient transport ambulance - is a type of ambulance that is designed to be sufficient only to transport patients whose lives are not in danger. In addition, there is also a distinction between Type A1 ambulance, which is designed for one patient, and A2, which can transport more patients.
- Type B: emergency ambulance - the type that has been constructed and equipped for transportation, basic treatment and monitoring of patients.
- Type C: is the most advanced type of ambulance. The Type C ambulance is a mobile intensive care unit. It was constructed and equipped for transporting, advanced treatment and monitoring of patients.
