Canada's first ambulance for obese patients on call

By Natalie Armstrong

TORONTO (Reuters) - Obese patients in Calgary, Alberta, are the first in Canada to have a new ambulance on call specially modified to move them in a dignified and safe way while protecting paramedics from injury.

The so-called "bariatric response team" is called in when the patient weighs between 400 pounds (181 kilograms) and 1,000 pounds (453 kg).

"There's a high risk of injury for our staff... obviously, the larger the patient, the higher the probability is," Paul Lapointe, public education officer at Calgary's emergency medical services, said on Thursday.

"Dignity of the patients was a big thing for us as well."

The ambulance has C$30,000 worth ($27,915) of modifications by a California-based company, including a hydraulic lift.

It also has an air mattress with tiny holes that blow air out causing patients to be lifted slightly off the mattress, making it easier to move them around.

Lapointe says he hopes Calgary's new ambulance will ensure that there will never be shocking images of obese patients being transported by trucks, as in the United States.

"I don't think that's a very dignified way to go but there was no other option in the past," said Lapointe, who once had to create a make-shift ramp for an obese patient.