The casualty movement is the procedures used to move a casualty from the initial location (street, home, workplace, wilderness, battlefield) to the ambulance. An ambulance is a vehicle designated for the transport of sick or injured people. ...

In wilderness or combat conditions, it may first be necessary to stabilize the patient prior to moving them to avoid causing further injury. In such situations, evacuation may involve carrying the victim some distance on improvised stretchers, a travois or other improvised carrying gear. Stabilization is a process to help prevent shock in sick or injured people. ... Cheyenne family using a horse-drawn travois, 1890 A travois (from the French travail, a frame for restraining horses) is a frame used by prehistoric humans, notably the Plains Indians of North America, to drag loads over land. ...

Once the patient is ready to be moved, the first step is the casualty lifting, to put him/her on a stretcher. The final step is the patient transfer from the stretcher to the hospital bed. The present article is only about the handling of the stretcher once the casualty is on it. Casualty lifting is the first step of casualty movement, an early aspect of emergency medical care. ... ambulancers using a stretcher (profile) ambulancers using a stretcher (front) Soldiers using a simple stretcher A stretcher is a device used in medical professions to carry casualties or an incapacitated person from one place to another. ...

The use of wheeled stretchers, usually used in most developed emergency services, does not need much explanation, except that great care must be taken in order to avoid to worsen an instable trauma. The article will focus on the handling of folding stretchers, that must be caried.

See also

• Transport of critically ill patients
• CASEVAC
• MEDEVAC