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is placed in it and then the paramedics can guide or
carry the chair down stairs or through tight spaces.
In hard-to-reach outdoor situations, such as
on a hillside or far from a road, a carrying stretcher
called a Stokes basket can be used. Often seen
used by firefighters, the Stokes basket has numer-
ous handholds and a lighter cage-like form, so that
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The legs of the
gurney will collapse
automatically as the
paramedics push
it into the back of
the ambulance. The
gurney doubles as
the patient’s bed.