Hospital based services begin The first known hospital based ambulance service was based out of Commercial Hospital, Cincinnati , Ohio (now the Cincinnati General) by 1865.[19] This was soon followed by other services, notably the New York service provided out of Bellvue Hospital. Edward Dalton, a former surgeon in the Union Army , was charged with creating a hospital in lower New York, and his experiences from war lead him to start an ambulance service to bring the patients to the hospital faster and in more comfort, which started in 1869. He claimed the service was the first of its kind, being unaware of the work in Cincinnati four year earlier. (VM DIRECTORS NOTE: Bellevue was in fact the first MUNICIPAL Hospital based service in the U.S.) These ambulances carried medical equipment, such as splints, a stomach pump, morphine , and brandy , reflecting contemporary medicine. Dalton believed that speed was of the essence, and horses were left harnessed, being attached to the ambulance by a 'drop' or 'snap' harness , meaning they were ready to go within 30 seconds of being called. The scene was very popular, and it's fame spread – During the year 1870, the ambulances attended 1401 emergency calls, but twenty one years later, this had more than tripled to 4392.[19] By the turn of the century, interns accompanied New York City ambulances, treated patients on scene, and often left them at home.[20]
In 1867, the city of London 's Metropolitan Asylums Board , in the United Kingdom , received six horse-drawn ambulances for the purpose of conveying smallpox and fever patients from their homes to a hospital. These ambulances were designed to resemble private carriages, but were equipped with rollers in their floors and large rear doors to allow for a patient, lying on a specially designed bed, to be easily loaded. Space was provided for an attendant to ride with the patient, and the entire patient compartment was designed to be easily cleaned and decontaminated. Anyone willing to pay the cost of horse hire could summon the ambulance by telegram or in person.[21]
Dedicated services begin In June 1887 the St John Ambulance Brigade was established to provide first aid and ambulance services at public events in London.[22] It was modeled on a military-style command and discipline structure. The St John Ambulance Association had already been teaching first aid to the public for 10 years prior to that.[22] National or state based branches of St John Ambulance now provides ambulance and first aid services in many countries around the world. [23]
In Queensland , a state in Australia , military medic Seymour Warrian called a public meeting in Brisbane and established an ambulance service after witnessing an event at the Brisbane showgrounds during Show Week in 1892.[24] A fallen rider, suffering a broken leg was walked off the field by well meaning but misguided bystanders, worsening his injury. As a result of the meeting, the Queensland Ambulance Transport Brigade was formed on the 12th September.[24] The first ambulance station in Queensland operated out of the Brisbane Newspaper Company and officers on night duty slept on rolls of newspaper on the floor. They had a stretcher, but no vehicle and transported patients on foot, although in time, they gained horse drawn stretchers and eventually vehicles. A year after the establishment of the Brisbane centre, another was established in Charters Towers in north Queensland, growing to over 90 community controlled ambulance centres. In 1991 the independent QATB centres amalgamated to form the Queensland Ambulance Service which is now the fourth largest ambulance service in the world.[24]
***********References
19. Barkley, Katherine T. 1990. "The Ambulance". Exposition Press. ISBN 0-682-48983-2
20. Kuehl, Alexander E. (Ed.). Prehospital Systems and Medical Oversight, 3rd edition. National Association of EMS Physicians. 2002 . @ ch. 1.
21. Higginbotham, Peter (October 2005). The MAB Land Ambulance Service . Retrieved on 2007 - 06-02 .
22. St John Ambulance in the Industrial Revolution . St John Ambulance UK. Retrieved on 2007 - 06-16 .
23. St John Ambulance First Aid Cover for Events . St John Ambulance UK. Retrieved on 2007 - 06-02 .
24. History of Queensland Ambulance Service. Retrieved on 2007-06-16.
Keywords: Bellevue, Dalton,Cincinnatti
Last Revision Date: 6/25/07 - 3:05 PM
