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Medical professionals depend on the proper tools to provide the best patient care. Therefore, it is important to have a good knowledge about the tools needed in order to respond quickly during an emergency. Wide ranges of medical accessories are available today. The medical backboard is one of the most commonly used pieces of equipment out of all of them. A medical backboard helps medical personnel move patients from wheelchairs to beds, toilets, cars, stair lifts and other locations. Due to this, a medical backboard is a necessity among people with limited mobility.
There are many different types of medical backboards today. They come equipped with cots, stair chairs and stretchers. There is a specific techniques required to successfully transfer the patients to a medical backboard. Following these standards in technique helps minimize the damage caused by the injury and reduce that person’s pain to a certain extent. Following acceptable procedure brings safety and comfort to the patient. Successfully transferring a patient is often the first step in providing quality treatment.
The first step is to slip the backboard under the patient before the transferring process. Then gently roll the patient onto his/her side and the place the board under beneath them. Then assist the patient in rolling back onto his or her own weight so that the backboard lies three quarters under their back. Then lock the wheels of the gurney into a secured position before placing the patient on it.
A medical backboard has some unique characteristics that help assist patients during a tricky situation. It is small enough to fit on the seat of a wheelchair or balance on the rim of a toilet. The design is sturdy, flat and stable so that the patient will not find any difficulties while using it. This provides mobility to the medical board in an effective way. Many medical backboards allow patients to slide along the board; this increases personal mobility by allowing patients to set up their own medical backboards and move themselves around unassisted.
The medical backboards used by emergency medical services are more properly known as backboards or long spine boards. These boards are somewhat larger than a human body, and they are designed to totally immobilize patients with suspected spinal injuries. Patients are strapped to the backboard on site and kept on the backboard as they are transported. Backboards are usually x-ray transparent so that patients can be immobilized during x-ray to check for spinal injuries before the backboard is removed. They consist of stronger materials including wood, plastic and metal. It is critical that emergency medical personnel select ideal medical boards to use during an emergency in order to assist the injured in the most protective and convenient manner.
