One of the key factors that contributes to making STEM a world leader in the design and production of ambulance stretcher-supports is compliance with the European regulations on medical vehicles and equipment.
Stem stretcher-supports are certified according to EN 1789 and EN 1865-5 (+ Annex B) standards, ensuring a high level of safety and quality of the equipment used in road ambulances for patients’ care and transport.
The standard defines the general requirements for the patient’s medical compartment and for the medical equipment and devices in it.
In accordance with this standard, all equipment and fastening systems on board the ambulance must undergo 10g dynamic test to ensure that they can withstand accelerations of up to 10 times the force of gravity in all directions, both longitudinal and lateral.
For the safety of the crew members and the patient on board, it is essential that medical devices, equipment or objects commonly transported on board a road ambulance are anchored in their place and do not move and become deadly bullets in the event of an accident.
En 1865 defines the minimum requirements for the design and performance of patient transport equipment used in road ambulances.
Section 5 (EN 1865-5) concerns stretcher supports.
Stretcher support is an essential element in the medical compartment. Firstly, it is the interface between the vehicle and the patient. It must have specific characteristics, for example it must not have sharp edges, it must have a loading capacity of up to 220 kg and allow the loading and unloading of the stretcher even in case of weight equal to 300 kg.
Secondly, having a significant mass and size, it can pose a serious risk to the safety of the occupants in the ambulance. For this reason, it is not enough for the stretcher to have a certified fastener, the stretcher-support must also have passed the dynamic tests relating to the anchoring to the vehicle and it must be 10g certified by a notified body.
STEM offers a range of 10g tested and certified stretcher-supports. In addition, many STEM supports and the Sherpa system are certified with dynamic crash tests up to 20g, for maximum patient and operator safety.
The company is committed to the design and production of quality products. An element that distinguishes STEM is compliance with the requirements set out in Annex B of EN 1865-5. The annex is related to stretcher-supports handling tests and defines the maximum efforts that can be applied manually to move the support sideways, inward or outward.
In order to design quality products, it is important to design devices that reduce the physical effort of operators and help them during their activities.
In this regard, STEM has made Sherpa, electronically controlled loading and unloading system for stretchers, which prevents the stretcher from falling to the ground in case of failure to open the legs during unloading and eliminates the operator’s physical effort during loading.