#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. An unusual piece of equipment has appeared in the transport fleet of Norilsktransgaz – an ambulance based on a trackol all-terrain vehicle. The mobile ambulance is equipped with the most modern medical equipment and adapted to northern conditions.
“The enterprise’s employees and contractors work in fields remote from developed medical infrastructure, where in case of bad weather it is not always possible for air ambulances to fly in to promptly remove the victim. Therefore, it was decided to purchase this equipment: it is intended to provide effective emergency care and for further transportation of the patient to a hospital facility, where it is possible to provide qualified assistance in full”, said Victoria Trusilnikova, the Norilsktransgaz enterprise’s industrial safety, labor protection and ecology department’s labor protection department’s head.
The all-terrain vehicle is filled with the most modern medical equipment. Inside the car there is a defibrillator, a pacemaker, a pulse oximeter and blood pressure meter, an electrocardiograph and a ventilator. The package also includes a stretcher, various fastenings for fixing the victim, a trauma and obstetric kit, an oxygen inhaler, an express meter for determining the concentration of glucose in the blood, a set of products for providing resuscitation care, and a container with automatic temperature maintenance of infusion solutions.
“We completed the car according to special order. At the same time, they took into account that the victim needs to maintain the vital functions of the body until the arrival of air ambulance or during the delivery of the patient from the field to Dudinka, which is 70 kilometers or more, the travel time is over four hours”, Victoria Trusilnikova clarified.
At the health center of the Tuhardsky section of Norilsktransgaz, two paramedics work around the clock: one of them receives patients on the spot, the second goes to calls in an ambulance.
It should be noted that the special vehicle is adapted to work in the Far North conditions: it has a pre-heater, an autonomous heater in the cabin, and the body is made in the form of a sandwich panel, which allows it to retain heat for a long time. The all-terrain vehicle’s main tank holds 110 liters of diesel fuel, and there are additional 80-liter canisters, so the vehicle can cover a long distance without refueling. There is also a trunk connection.
Previously, transportation of patients in need of specialized medical care to places of developed medical infrastructure was carried out by calling a medical helicopter, which picked them up and delivered them to medical institutions in Norilsk and Dudinka.
“According to statistics, air ambulances have to be called in at least seven to ten times a year. In just five months of 2024, the air ambulance was called three times. As a last resort, we involve the Yamal or Yamalo-Nenets air ambulances – sometimes they are closer and faster to reach our remote fields”, said Victoria Trusilnikova.
Follow us on Telegram, VKontakte.
Text: Irina Chernyshova, Photo: Nikolay Shchipko
