CEN/TC 239/WG 1
Medical vehicles and their equipment - Stretchers and other patient handling equipment

To establish standards for medical road vehicles and their equipment in order to optimize prehospital care and facilitate transportation of patients including cross-border transfers and major disasters. The standards shall embrace the special requirements of the base vehicle, the patient's compartment, the driver's compartment and the equipment. To establish standards for stretchers and other patient handling equipment including stretchers, undercarriages and sedan chairs. To facilitate interchangeability for patient transfers. NOTE: The standard shall define the special requirements for ambulance vehicles and their equipment, and shall not define technical specifications of the vehicles for which E.C. or other regulations apply or are in the process of being formulated. Medical devices such as defibrillators, infusion devices etc. shall comply with existing European Standards where applicable. Further work in WG 1 with special attention to safety aspects: A: WG 1 should develop evidence-based key-characteristics for the immediate & distant recognition of ambulances. B: TC-239 is not the CEN body primarily responsible for developing standards for high visibility clothing and vehicle warning lights & sirens but has the expertise on ambulance service requirements. WG 1 should therefore: 1. Consider the development of recommendations for key-qualities of audible and visual warnings for ambulances. 2. Consider the development of key-qualities of high visibility and identification clothing for ambulance personnel, which distinguishes them from other public or private service personnel. And then refer those recommendations to the CEN/TC 239. In some countries other agencies, i.e. Police and Fire Services who also operate ambulances, are used to control public disorder.This may alienate sections of the community. It is therefore important that medical road vehicles and their staff are clearly identified as such if their access to emergencies is to be assured.

National mirror committee of CEN/TC 239/WG 1