Ambulance

An ambulance is a vehicle designated for the transport of sick or injured people. The first ambulances called by that name were horse ambulances used in the American Civil War. The first practical ambulances were created by Dominique Jean Larrey, a French surgeon (1766-1842), for use in the Napoleonic Wars. Modern-day ambulances are typically large automobiles on a van or light truck chassis.

Private ambulance companies

In the United States, private ambulance companies perform non-urgent transportation from home to hospital and back (e.g. regular dialysis, programmed surgical operation, this could be described as a "white taxi") or between hospitals. They also participate to the sanitary duty: they make interventions at home for relative emergencies (their response time is not compatible with "real" emergencies); the crew of a private ambulance is made of an ambulance driver and an ambulance technician, both usually EMT's.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In France, no ambulance drivers are legally required to have any first aid training although most have at least basic first aid training. For simple transport (no care required), private companies also provide light vehicles called VSL–véhicule sanitaire léger, for seated transport. The crew has only one the ambulance driver. In this case, the driver must have the basic first aid diploma.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~