Texas Prison System Ambulance-Designed For Transporting Prisoners Patients

[x635 4,066]

Very cool and unique!

UTMB (University Of Texas Medical Branch) located outside Houston on Galveston Island, is the main major hospital in the Texas Prison System. Interfacility transports can take several hours from all over Texas. (Think like going from Buffalo NY to Montauk NY)

Frazer will customize any ambulance and accomodate any customers needs or want no matter how unusual it may be. They put out some pretty cool units and are very high quality, very solid build, and durable.

Used for transporting ailing inmates to and from medical facilities, the UTMB Correctional Managed Care unit is not your typical Frazer. And this is not your typical FrazerCast. Press play to see what we mean.

http://www.frazerbilt.com/Videos/watch.php?id=761

More about Frazer: http://www.frazerbilt.com/

[BCFire05 83]

I watched that video earlier. Pretty cool rig. Next time I'm in Galveston I'll see if I can snap some more photos of it.

[SRS131EMTFF 471]

In watching that video it is my opinion that this ambulance is poorly designed on a good day.

From the top:

-Too many hard and sharp corners. In looking at the back of the rig the metal corrections officer cage has a massive metal corner that does not appear to be padded or covered at all.

-Too many objects that can be turned into weapons in the back of the ambulance. The drop down hangers (despite looking like they could support the weight of a small child at best, not a 250lb grown man) look like they can be easily pulled down by an inmate and used to assault other inmates or COs.

-No restraint hooks or attachments. I literally saw no location where an inmate could be attached and secured to the ambulance using hand cuffs or other restraints.

-No seat for the EMT providing aid. I do not think any one here can argue that the CO in the metal cage can provide effective care to a pt while in the box. If this is medical transport, the EMT needs to be in the box able to assist the pt.

-Windowless Box. As stated in the video, the ambulance does not have rear facing windows making many inmates sick during transport. Transport is supposed to make the pt better or keep them the same, not make them worse. It is an ethical violation to knowing do harm to the pt and forcing a pt to be transported in a ambulance that will make them worse is certainly doing harm. I am not sure it would be considered cruel and unusual punishment however it probably feels that way.

-Too many pts. No one here can argue that one EMT can provide effective aid to 7 pts on stretchers while heading down the road.

All in all it looks like a huge waste of money that was poorly designed and may actually be doing harm to pts.

[JackEMT 77]

Unique indeed.

I dont get the impression that this is an emergency transport unit, definitely not set up to be one unless the only patient is in the cot.

I don't know what would be worse, being on the top bunk or in the cage.