FWD: Failure of Stryker PowerPro stretchers

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Below is forwarded at the request of Skip Kirkwood from Wake County EMS.

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: skip.kirkwood@...

Date: Sep 28, 12:30 pm

Subject: Failure of Stryker PowerPro stretchers

To: NEMSMA

Ladies and Gentlemen;

Two weeks ago, a Wake County EMS ambulance was involved in a crash that

totalled the vehicle. The vehicle drove in to a ditch when cut off by a

private automobile, then rolled on to the passenger side and came to a

sudden stop. There was no patient on board at the time. Both crew

members are fine and suffered only bumps and bruises.

The stretcher was retained by the mount. Unfortunately, the rear

retaining pin of the stretcher (the part where the mount grips the

stretcher) fractured off the stretcher frame, leaving the stretcher free

to fly about the patient compartment. The stretcher also fractured at the

head end, about 18 " footward from the antler.

We have learned that we are not alone in experiencing these particular

failures, and we are concerned that there may be inherent safety issues

with this stretcher. Before we spend any more money (we were in the

process of doing a full fleet conversion to the Stryker Power Pro), we

want to find out if this is a common problem and what, if anything, is

being done about it.

NEMSMA group members, please pass this along to your state association

list servers, and pass any similar stories to me. I will be sending

additional information about posting these to the international EVENT (EMS

Voluntary Event Notification Tool) data base (http://event.clirems.org/).

Thank you.

Skip Kirkwood, M.S., J.D, EMT-P

Chief, Emergency Medical Service Division

Wake County Department of EMS